Empress Academy
by Aliniel
Summary: Hi everyone! I present you my new fanfic about Elsword. This time the action takes place in an alternative universe were the game's protagonist attend a very special school. Through this story you'll see the characters struggle with their personal affairs and at the same time, uncover something that will change their ordinary school lives. It will contain NSFW and yuri! Enjoy!
1. The shining city over the Sky

**_And as you saw on the introduction, this will be settled on an AU. I will not spoil anything about it since I want to allow you to discover it :3_**

 ** _For now, this fanfiction will be rated T so more people can see it. But the rating will go up in future chapters due to "violence, adult themes and questionable affairs". I should also mention that there will be NSFW and yuri relationships._**

 ** _Like in my last fanfiction, I want to thank Justforfum for his great help in proofreading and fixing the text. "You're a big help 3"_**

 ** _I also wish to thank Fi-San for allowing me to use his marvelous drawings as front Page. I encourage all of you to check out his pixiv or patron to see more of his works. Be aware of NSFW however._**

 ** _Without farther ado I present you "Empress Academy"_**

* * *

Another day with a deep blue sky. Silence and quietness accompanied the clouds on their way to the higher mountains. A silence that was fast interrupted by the sound of two engines burning fuel. A sky ship soared overhead with two big engines attached to its lower stern. The ship had three rows of small rounded windows along it's sides and a glass cupule on top. There were four helix propellers around the cupule, pointing up to keep the ship stable. It was painted black and bore the blue and white Hamel flag.

Somewhere between the center of the windows second row, there was a young blonde boy, looking excited through said window. He was getting so impatient he left his seat and headed to the glass cupule.

The top of the sky ship was built to accommodate several passengers: there was a table with refreshments and also a set of binoculars hanging around. The only thing that could be seen from there however, was the Altera floating island.

It was the ship's destination. The island floated in the air as if it were on the ocean. A huge city rested upon its plateau. All of its buildings were mostly grey in color from the distance, the only ones that stood out were the "Nasod Palace" and the "Sky ship dock". The Nasod Palace was an immense building composed of three black towers. Two thin towers erected around a central spire which stood at twice the other's height. They were taller than Lanox's volcano, and topped with antenna arrays that flashed aerial warning lights for all incoming sky ships. It was quite the sight.

The Sky ship dock on the other hand was a huge hangar. A set of piers extended from the bottom of it. The docks were organized in a fashion that allowed the larger ships to dock at the bottom and progressively smaller ones towards the top. Each floor had two piers, forming a "U" shape were all ships moored.

"Incredible, so this is the Altera city…" The young boy said breathlessly.

"It's even better once you're in inside, Chung." A man in a black suit said.

Chung looked at him in disbelief. Even better? It looked impossible. The man went back into the ship inner chambers after taking a stretch. Chung stopped his sightseeing to look at his own reflection on the glass cupule. He was wearing a uniform. A black blazer with a red stripe on the neck and the flaps, showing the academy crest on the hearth pocket: A rose twisting around a sword with the name "Empress Academy" under it. Matched with a pair of navy trousers. The academy didn't imposed any rule over shoes, so Chung wore black leather shoes. He thought the uniform was a little gloomy, even with the red stripe adorning it, but he also heard it wasn't actually mandatory to wear it, so he didn't mind.

"Attention. All passengers must return to their seats for landing," a voice announced through megaphone.

Chung quickly left the deck and made his way back to his seat. Like everyone else, he buckled his security belt and watched the landing maneuver from the window. The ship was already near the border of Altera Island. The two big engines on the stern shut down, letting the sky ship glide for a while, descending, and adjusting its elevation. The main engines rotated then, pointing now to the opposite direction. The engines started, making small but strong combustions that slow decelerated the ship as it approached the dock. Chung saw the huge walls of the hangar cover both sides of the pier. They were landing on one of the highest floors of the whole building. Finally a last combustion stopped the ship.

"We have successfully landed on Altera Island, Anchor district. Passengers may now disembark. We remind all passengers currently heading to Besma to please remain on the sky ship."

The megaphone announcement was cut by the noise the passengers made while getting off. Chung managed to take his luggage, a medium bag and a large cylinder one; and headed out. The black suited man followed him.

"Alright young prince: we are here. From now on you're on your own. I'll take the next sky ship back to Hamel. I wish you the best of luck and bid you farewell."

Chung bowed to say goodbye as the man left to head to another pier. He turned around, alone now, and made his way along the multitude of people who had disembarked the same ship as him. He was surprised by the roar of another sky ship. It was clearly the same model as the one he boarded, but this was even larger. Three more rows of windows and five meters longer. Painted red, the ship docked right next to Hamel's. The flag from Belder marked its origin. Passengers got off, making the dock even more crowded. Chung tried his best not to lose his luggage at the same time he headed to the nearest elevator.

It was quite complicated, but the machine was able to bring him to the first floor of the hangar. He then rushed to the railing and looked down. There was something he really wanted to see. A huge ship, as big as the whole dock containing it. It was moored on the lowest level. It was completely grey, and unlike any other sky ship, this one boasted huge guns on top.

"Its length is 250 meters, the main guns are 57cm high caliber guns, thousands of secondary armaments lay beneath its 300mm thick steel armor. It's the result of the cooperation between Hamel naval enginery and Altera industry: the super dreadnought class battleship _Elrios's Wrath_!" Chung said out loud in excitement.

The warships was the Nasod Navy's flagship. It was usually on the press. It achieved the impressive amount of 27 victories against the demon navy.

"Ha ha ha! I see you like that kind of stuff, young boy" A voice shouted right next to Chung.

He looked at the person talking to him. He was wearing a similar outfit than his, but with some differences. The stripe on the neck and flap was white, and there were another stripe on the blazer's cuffs. The blazer also had a golden chain that rounded the right shoulder and locked onto a lion head shaped adornment. Chung quickly recognized it as the academy's teachers outfit. And more importantly, he recognized that teacher.

"Principal Penensio!" Chung said bowing to him.

"Save the formalities for the entrance ceremony, mister" Penensio said, pointing behind him.

Chung looked over the principal to see a group of uniformed students lining up. A bus was waiting to be filled, presumably heading to Empress Academy. Chung thanked the principal and got in line. He looked at all other students. There were a bunch of boys and girls with extremely pale skin and colored gems on their foreheads or chests. Some of them carried little drones or floating machines with them. Chung also saw a group of girls from Hamel, he recognized them from his last school.

"Are you a transfer student as well?"

A tall girl wearing the student uniform asked Chung the moment she placed herself in line next to him. The girl's uniform was similar except for the navy trousers were a black skirt that also had the red stripe on the bottom end.

"Ah, yes. My name is Chung, nice to meet you" Chung said, bowing.

"I am Ara Haan, it is a pleasure." Ara answered with her own bow.

A person from the bus started roll call. Chung heard his and headed inside. Ara was unfortunately called over to the other bus. He sat on the designated seat and waited. The road extended to the hangar walls, Chung was impatient to see the city behind them. When all the students were finally settled, the bus began moving.

They passed the hangar walls. Chung stuck his face to the glass. Altera city was impressive. Tall buildings of over 10 stories high extended on both sides of the road. Neon lights advertised stores, the most crowded streets had screens floating over the road to display information about the news, the weather or just to spam ads. A lot of cars circulated on the streets. Chung recognized some of them, but almost all of them were brands only available to buy in Altera.

The buildings became less dense as they neared the campus. Finally the bus stopped. A long, brown brick wall separated the campus from the rest of the city. The bus only took some minutes to clear the security gate and the barrier was lifted, allowing the vehicles to enter the campus. A huge campus extended in all directions. From gardens to sports fields. Everything the academy needed was available. Chung squinted his eyes to try and see the students dorms. A long line of identical buildings of 4 floors each. With a hallway exposed on the façade and doors lining them. The boy's dorms where blue, while the girls got the elegant looking black ones. Between the dorms there were even some clothing stores, shops, and lots of other kinds of business. It was like their own city in the campus.

However the main building of the campus was no other that the left black tower of the Nasod Palace. If seeing it from the sky ship was impressive, standing at its base was breathtaking. It was impossible to see its top from the bottom no matter how much you tilted your head.

Chung remembered the pamphlet he read on his way here. Apparently the tower was called "The sage hall". Almost 90% of it was a library where knowledge accumulated by the Nasods over the centuries was preserved. Not only about them, but about all the living things in Elrios.

"All the freshmen, please come this way," a teacher was shouting as the students got off the buses.

They were lead inside the tower. The black walls housed a comfortable atrium. Red carpets adorned the ground made of wood. There were paintings of important historical figures on the walls. Some signs marked the way to the ceremony room, were all the new students would hear a speech from the principal and other school staff. Chung couldn't help but imagine it would be boring. However, after seeing all that he saw today, everything could be considered that way. He was eager to get to his new room and leave his luggage, but he would have to bear with it a little longer.

The ceremony room was another huge place. Rows of seats stretched in front of a large scenery. Each row higher than the front one, making the entire room spread upwards until the ceiling. Chung recognized Principal Penensio in the scenery. He sat and waited for the speech.

"Dear students, I wish to give you a warm welcome to Empress Academy. Most of you came from all around the globe seeking the knowledge stored in this tower. And let me say that both me and all your teachers welcome you."

The speech went on with Penensio and other teachers boasting about the school installments. Chung was really bored when he saw Ara waving at him. He returned the gesture and eyed the other students. He already saw the Nasods between them, but also noticed some elves, Pongo, and even other humanoid race he'd never seen before. There was a lizardman and a Phoru too.

Penensio left the stage, and his place was taken by a girl. The illumination on the room became darker as a spotlight focused only her. She was a pale, young, silver-haired girl. Chung noticed she was a Nasod when he saw the blue gem on her forehead.

"Freshmen, I bid you welcome to this great Academy. As some of you may know, I am Eve: president of the student council. During the next academic year, all of you will be under my care. You may have lots of questions by now, but don't fret. We, the student council, are always ahead. My staff has all the data necessary for start your year in the Nasod Network. You can access it with your student ID and your password."

The spotlight faded and the lighting returned to its normal state. A rumble was heard on the room as every student was searching their bags. Chung did too, until he pulled a sphere from inside. The sphere illuminated as if Chung's hands had it activated. It displayed some small squares with words on it. Chung slid his finger along the sphere, rotating the messages on the device until finally stopping. A holographic screen was projected over the device with the words: "Nasod Network" and "Student ID and Password". He entered the requested data and new messages appeared.

"Room 323, Starfall dorm… I see" He mumbled to himself.

"Oh my, is that the Elshard Galactic Five?! I heard it was only available on preorder through the NN."

Chung lifted his head looking above the holo screen to see a redheaded boy, excitedly looking at his device.

"Well, yeah. But I know a guy who could get me one before they were officially sold," Chung said.

"That's neat, man. Preorders are already closed, I hope I can get one on release day at least… Name is Elsword, by the way," The boy said, offering Chung a handshake.

"I am Chung, nice to meet you," Chung said. He was unsure if he should bow or handshake, so he did both at the same time, looking kind of weird.

"Ha ha, don't be so stiff man. Oh, I see you're in the 323, it's amazing, that's my room too!" Elsword said.

Chung didn't say anything about how loud Elsword was, he was actually thankful for his roommate not being a shady guy. A teacher ordered all the students to head to their designated rooms from the Stage. Chung did so, now followed by Elsword. On the way there they talked about how incredible the academy was.

"So, what's your reason to be here? I mean, I've heard your name before, pal." Elsword asked once a silence fall between them.

"Oh, I guess it was silly to expect nobody to know about me huh?" Chung replied.

He was quite amazed. Since he was prince of Hamel, almost everyone who knew about him would freak out and start acting all weird. Something that Chung never appreciated. However this Elsword guy not only was acting cool, he even dared to call him by such informal names.

"My family is testing me. My parents always hired private teachers at my house, but last year my father decided I should get out on my own for a while so I can learn how the world works outside the castle," Chung said.

It was true, he was sent there to become an adult. He would have to live on his own. No daddy credit card, no bodyguards, no calling for the head maid every time the food didn't taste good. Chung was actually up to the task, feeling all excited about not being controlled all the time by his parents.

"Well, I'm here because of pops too. I will become a great Red Knight, but he insists I must go through this whole academy thing," Elsword added, resting his hands on his nape. "He said something about being able to master the pen and the sword. To put it simply, he doesn't want me being an idiot."

"Shouldn't you take it more seriously? I heard this academy standards are crazy high. How did you get in here?" Chung asked.

"Merits. You know? Everyone here is either a genius or they have achieved some kind of feat that allowed them to enter. Also, don't expect anybody bowing because you're the prince. Remember the Nasod girl who gave the speech earlier? She's Empress Eve. So it's kind of normal to have famous people around here," Elsword said.

After a while walking they finally reached the Starfall dorm. They walked their way to their room. It was on the 3rd floor, not too afar from the shared kitchen. They entered and left their luggage. The room wasn't small. There was enough place for two beds, a pair of desks, a big drawer with its inside divided in two chambers and a small bathroom. They found a sheet of paper hanged on the window.

"Please, discuss with your roommate and select up to three additional commodities from the list." Elsword said as he read the note.

The list went from a TV to a piano or other kind of things. It would take time to decide it though. There was another note on each desk, this time Chung read it.

"Attention students, select your desired electives and fill the next form to enroll. Hand it to the student council before classes start."

"Oh right, we get to choose a bunch of optional stuff to study," Elsword said jumping into his desk.

Chung went through the list. There were some oddly specific subjects, like oleo painting or ballet dancing. His sight stopped at the "Military training" one. He was always interested in guns and weapons, so that was kind of a safe choice. The form said he could choose up to three additional subjects. He continued the list and stopped in the "marksmanship" one. He remembered his father making fun of his poor aiming with the cannon so he also chose it. For his last subject he just went with one of the foreign languages.

"Well, I'm going to turn in mine, do you want me to take yours, too?" Chung asked as he was leaving the room.

Elsword just tossed his form at him with a thumb up. Chung left the room. The forms included a direction for turning them in. He was distracted reading Elsword's form and didn't notice there was someone in front of him until he crashed into him.

"Hey kid, watch where the hell you're going," The guy said in a rather aggressive tone.

In front of Chung there was an older student. He was wearing the school uniform but it looked a bit worn out. He had also a armlet with the words "willpower" and "strength" written on it. But what was more noticeable of said guy, was his left arm, made out of metal. Chung didn't see a core on the guy, so he must be a human.

"Raven, don't start bullying the newbies already" A girl shouted, coming in.

It was a red-haired girl, Chung thought he recognized her. She was also wearing the school uniform with the same armlet. However she also wore a black long coat with the bottom burnt. And she was also carrying a wooden sword.

"This brat just ran into me, Elesis. I guess this year rookies aren't disciplined yet." Raven said.

Chung just waited there, not very sure if he should leave or stay.

"Leave him alone or you will be the one getting a disciplined."

A new girl joined the scene. She was shorter than Chung and was not wearing the school uniform. She wore a black mini skirt with fishnet tights, a black pair of enormous boots and a purple t-shirt with the picture of a fat bat. She covered the t-shirt with a black vest. Chung noticed another armlet on her left arm, this one was red and bore the words "Student Council" on it.

"Humph… the queen's war hound is here huh? Alright, we'll leave this guy for now," Elesis said, gesturing to Raven to move away.

"Don't worry freshman, those delinquents won't harm you if you don't actually offend them."

"Thank you… hum…"

"Aisha, I am the student council vice-president. "

Chung repeated his thanks with a bow; Aisha just smiled and took the forms.

"I'll take care of this; you can go back to your room. Tomorrow is your first day, I suggest you have some rest."

Chung thanked her again before leaving. The encounter with those delinquents was quite unexpected. He remembered Elsword words about everyone here being important. Were those two also important people? Anyway, he just headed back, found Elsword already sleeping and decided to do that, too.


	2. The class starts!

First day of class turned out to be a rainy day. The water splashed against the windows, drawing beautiful curved lines across them as it slid down. Inside one of the tower's classrooms a young boy was staring outside. Everyone in class was bored since their teacher was late. He stopped looking outside to check his pen for the umpteenth time. He felt a prod on his back and looked that way to find his friend. A small, cheerful girl.

"Ciel, the teacher is not coming, let's go to the club already." She said.

"Calm down, everyone else is also in class so nobody will be there, Lu." He answered.

Lu just pouted at that answer and tried to leave the class on her own. But the teacher came in when she was nearing the exit. They looked at each other for a moment before Lu quickly realized she would get angry. She said she was going to the bathroom.

"Wait until I introduce myself."

The teacher was a small … girl? She looked younger than almost all the students. She has light pink hair and pink eyes. There was also a pink colored core on her forehead. She wore the teacher uniform with such elegance despite being so small that it created an intimidating aura.

"I am sorry about my late arrive. Unexpected circumstances have occurred on the way here. As some of you may already know, I am Professor Apple. I will be your history teacher for the year."

As the teacher bowed to her students, they stood up and returned the bow.

"I want to congratulate all of you for successfully advancing to your second year in this academy."

The praise was received with joy and happiness by the class. They were second year students. Their uniform now had two stripes showing their rank. They all knew how hard they worked to be there.

"And so I am assuming you are already aware that this academy is not for time-wasters. With that said, we will have an exam right now."

The joy turned grim all of a sudden. There were groans and jeers.

"Do not worry my pupils; this is only going to be an oral test with short questions. I want to assess how much all of you are capable of."

She sat behind her desk and opened a bock. Everyone had already settled down, knowing she won't stop no matter how much they complain. After a while she looked ready and stood up again, placing herself in front of the desk and leaning against it.

"Alright, the young boy by the 3rd window, please say your name."

"It is Ciel, Madame."

"Ciel, what was the last worldwide war before the demon invasion?" She asked.

"It was the Nasod and human war. The Nasods fought claiming to be freed from human exploitation as well as for securing energy sources vital for them." He answered.

"That is correct. Young girl behind him, would you care to say your name."

"Luciela Sourcream," She said in a pompous tone.

"Luciela, how did such a war come to an end?" Apple asked again.

"Hum… a notorious human made a discovery that allowed to create huge amounts of energy without using El. He shared such technology with the Nasods over the condition they negotiate peace with the humans."

"And what technology was that… You: the girl trying not to be seen. Say your name and answer."

"It's Rose, Madame… The technology that allowed that was called nuclear fusion."

"That is right. As I hope all of you know, peace between Nasod and humans was achieved after that. With time, the old scars from the war disappeared, and the Nasod and humans started cooperating with each other. You there, the elf lady; state your name and answer: What was the most important event that marked the history 470 years ago?" Apple asked.

"My name is Rena. It was the signing of the _Elrios Treaty_. A document that the Nasods and humans made. It acknowledged the Nasods's liberty and autonomy as well as the conditions for the peace. It was the treaty that allowed both societies to merge and ultimately flourish into the civilization we are today."

The class continued for a while with the teacher shooting questions at the students. There weren't able to answer all of them correctly but they still managed to somehow make their teacher happy.

"I see, I guess you will produce acceptable results this year as well. But remember to not grow idle, or else you will embarrass yourselves once the finals arrive," Apple said.

Finally the bell rang, marking the end of the first period classes. Empress academy scheduled its classes so there will be three hours of classes and one hour of break, for a total of six hours of daily class. Fortunately that also means that there weren't any classes at all during the evening. Evenings were usually used for club activities.

"Let's go to the club," Lu said, lifting her fist and leading the way.

She happily made her way from the class to the north area of the tower. Where almost every club was based. She entered without knocking through one of the many doors that lined both walls. Ciel and a group of students following her.

The door leaded to a big room, with an scenery in one of the sides, and a lot of props lying everywhere. Some costumes and outfits stacked on the tables and lots of papers over any surface. They slowly started getting everything in place.

"It's just how we left it last year," Lu said, taking a deep breath.

"President, shall we continue practicing that play we were going to do last year?" A member asked.

"Of course. We'll do it this time."

They were practicing a famous play called "The last Hamel knight". It was about a Hamel soldier that was left behind enemy lines and managed to survive clinging only to the hope of seeing his family again. Ciel played as the Hamel knight, while Lu was the antagonist: A demon succubus who wanted to capture and torture him.

* * *

Since the day was so rainy, any club that needed to perform outside activities was dismissed for the day. That left Rose a bit down.

"Don't worry about it, we'll do extra work tomorrow," Rena said, approaching her from behind.

"Why don't we do it in the gym?" She asked back.

"The gym is reserved on rainy days for the sports club. But maybe we could use an empty classroom. Anyway, I have things to do today so…"

Rena left without saying anything more. Rose packed her cheerleader uniform into her bag and decided to go back to the dorms. The rain only got worse as time passed by.

"Attention to all students, it is recommended that you leave now and head to your current dorms before the weather worsens," The school's megaphone announced.

The school gate became chaos with everyone trying to leave at the same time. There were stolen umbrellas everywhere, and some students had to run for it trying to use their bags as makeshift cover. All the students headed to the dorms, while the ones that lived outside of campus had to wait for their bus. Ciel grabbed Lu's hand to run in the rain, even when they were sharing Lu's umbrella since Ciel's one got supposedly stolen, they got wet. It was worse when Lu separated to go to her own dorm, while Ciel still needed to walk under the rain a bit more. He refused to keep Lu's umbrella until tomorrow however.

The boys dorms were the farthest ones from the school. Meaning he got himself drenched on the way there. When he arrived, he found Aisha at the doors, she was writing down who made it to the rooms. She saw Ciel, he was drenched. So much that Aisha allowed him to enter before writing him down. Ciel took the chance to remove his uniform's blazer. The water soaked him so much that his shirt was basically transparent. Aisha stared at how his clothes stuck to him, highlighting his pecs and abs. Even while being so thin, Ciel was actually quite muscular.

"Like what you are seeing?" Ciel asked, since the vice-president didn't say anything more.

"Maybe I do. Alright, your name and class…" Aisha said, trying to hide her amazement.

Ciel cleared the info and went to his room. He threw his bag and got changed as soon as possible. The door opened and his roommate came in. It was Raven, he was drenched as well.

"Did you get ogled by the vice-president too?" Ciel asked jokingly.

"What are you talking about?" Raven asked.

He laughed as he started removing his drenched clothes from the ground. He just pushed them into the drawer. Raven did the same thing. After the two of them were set, Raven went to his desk and pulled out of his pocket a bag full of some kind of tobacco.

"Do you want a joint?" Raven asked over his shoulder.

"Nah, I'm not in the mood, but I wouldn't mind sharing one," Ciel responded.

Raven skillfully prepared the cigarette. Ciel meanwhile wandered the room feeling anxious. It was kind of boring to not have anything to do. They filled the document asking for a fine TV as well as a gaming console for their room, but those deliveries will take almost a week.

"Here you go, remember to close the curtains," Raven said, giving the cigarette to Ciel.

"As if someone would rat on us," He said.

"Normal tobacco could get you grounded, but that thing not only could get you expelled but earn you jail time as well, better be cautious," Raven said.

Ciel closed the curtains before lighting the joint. He took a good drag. The smoke flew out of his nose and lips as he gave back joint to Raven. It was too early to get high, but since there was nothing else to do. They still were smoking when they heard a knock on the door. They hurried to hid the joint.

"Don't worry guys, it's me."

They felt relieved to hear Lu voice at the other side. Ciel opened the door. Lu was followed by Elesis.

"What are two young and healthy boys like you two doing here at this time of the day?" Elesis asked laughing as she came in.

They let them in the room. Elesis took the free chair from Ciel's desk while Lu sat between Ciel's crossed legs. Elesis made a gesture to Raven, who was already preparing some more for the newcomers. Not much later, the room was thick with smoke.

"I bet the smoke is totally noticeable outside," Ciel said, he had restrained from smoking as much as he could since Lu was there.

Lu always became a lot more clingy when she's high. She was now with Elesis, they were whispering in a way the boys couldn't hear.

"You're right; I'm going to check outside for a bit," Raven said, truth is: he needed fresh air.

Raven stumbled on his way out. He was used to that stuff, but it was still kind of funny watching him. Apparently he started smoking as a way to ease the pain from his arm. Elesis looked at him go and said.

"Sorry guys, I have something important to talk about with Raven, I'll see you tomorrow."

Elesis also stumbled on her way out. Lu and Ciel were left alone. It was a chance Lu immediately took. As if Ciel was already waiting for it, he didn't even surprise when Lu turned around to kiss him. He felt a wave of smoke being pushed into his mouth. They separated their lips and Ciel left out the smoke. He them took a long pull and passed it to Lu as well. For some reason, they would only do that kind of thing while smoking, and when alone.

"Lu, what about a quickie while they are out," Ciel asked, embracing the little girl.

"Isn't it too risky?" Lu said, taking another drag and slowly blowing it to Ciel.

Ciel didn't answer, he pulled the girl closer instead and they laid her on the bed. He swiftly removed the joint from her hand, since the bed he had last year had a lot of burn marks. Lu thought it was funny because it was like keeping a record of it, but Ciel didn't enjoyed the scolding he got the last year at all. He was lucky they didn't tell the principal about it.

* * *

Rena and Rose were running under the rain. They managed to arrive relatively dry at a convenience store where they were able to buy a pair of umbrellas. None of them expected to have rain, so they didn't even bring their own umbrellas.

"Well, that settles it. Where were you going?" Rose asked as they left the store.

"That new Fashion store they opened on my dorms commercial section. The year just started and I haven't had time at all to get ready for it." Rena answered, grabbing Rose by the hand and dragging her along.

They crossed a small plaza that separated the girl's dorms from the boys ones. It was decorated with beautiful blue flowers and big trees. However at that time of the year the trees barely had any foliage, letting the rain wet the entire place. Even though there was a road there, the only cars allowed inside the campus was the transport busses and the official and staff cars, so it was totally clear. The commercial section of the dorms was on the lowest floor, under the first floor hallway, creating a roof to stop the rain. Lots of students gathered there either avoiding the rain or just window shopping to kill time. They entered a fashion store called "Divine Fabrics". It was a only female clothing store, they were already selling winter collection clothes, with an excessive abuse of synthetic fur on every clothe. Apparently that was going to be the fashion this time.

"The only good thing about winter is the clothes, don't you agree?" Rena asked.

"Actually, I like winter over summer. I just hate the heat." Rose said.

They spent a lot of time trying on different outfits. Finally Rena bought a pair of green rain boots and Rose a white coat. They were heading out when they saw Raven followed by Elesis.

"Have you heard the rumors about those two going out?" Rena asked.

"I don't think those rumors are right though, they always look very distant from each other," Rose answered.

Raven checked the plaza and the smaller streets that surrounded the dorms until finally finding a clear spot. He waited for the redhead to get comfy. She just sat over a bench. Even though it was clearly wet, a single gesture from Elesis hand made all the water evaporate. Raven sat too.

"What did you wanted to tell me?"

"It's about the next week's you-know-what," Elesis said.

"What about it? Are you worried or what?"

"I heard those idiots are going to bring something… dangerous."

Raven leaned back over the bench's backrest and gave it some thought.

"Alright, I'll tell the boys to also be prepared."

However their conversation was cut when two students appeared. They didn't realize the presence of the two delinquents speaking on the bench until they were right in front of them. Those two students were Chung and Elsword. Chung let out a gasp when seeing the two seniors on the bench, while Elsword adopted a tense stance.

"You. You're the two bullies from the other day," Chung said pointing at them.

"What's up Hamel prince, Aisha's not here this time so you should mind your words," Raven said.

Chung backed away. One thing was that he got bully by his childish appearance, but they knew he was prince of Hamel and still dared to defy him. They should be two really big shots, he thought. Meanwhile Elsword was looking at Elesis, avoiding direct eye contact.

"What's up bro, you don't need to hide from me. It's not like I'm going to do anything to you." Elesis said to his brother in a blunt tone.

"I-I'm sorry Elesis, we'll be going now." Elsword said, hurriedly leaving the place.

"What was that about?" Raven asked.

"That guy is my brother. Be good and don't bully him, ok?" Elesis said.

They stood and went back to the room. They found Ciel and Lu passed out on the bed. For one moment they were scared that the drugs had them done, but apparently they were napping. Raven gave Ciel a chop for it. Elesis took Lu and returned with her to the dorms.


	3. A soldier and a boy

_**I'm sorry for the huge delay my beloved readers u.u**_

 _ **I hope you enjoy it :3**_

* * *

Chung was carefully polishing his destroyer the moment Elsword entered the room. He carried a bunch of unhealthy snacks and a big bottle of soda. Once he entered the room he let himself drop on the bed and threw some snacks towards Chung.

"That's a big gun you've got there" Elsword said, eyeing Chung's cannon.

"It's comparable to my destroyer in size right?" Chung answered without looking at him.

Elsword jokingly hit him on the back of his head. Chung was usually a lot more relaxed when they were all alone in the room. There's no way Chung would joke about his manhood and his beloved weapon in one single phrase in any other situation.

"Jokes aside, what are you going to do with it?" Elsword asked.

"Today is my first Military training class. They asked us to bring our personal weapon If we have any."

"Oh, that explains why you were so excited today."

Elsword dig through a whole snack bag in mere seconds to Chung amazement. He finished maintenance on his weapon and put it back into the cylinder bag to carry it. Before leaving, he made sure to secure some of the snacks Elsword brought under his bed.

"By the way, the second years told me that class is one time only. I guess there's not much to learn about being a soldier. But that also means that all students are in the same class despite their academic year." Elsword said.

"I see; I hope I don't get stuck with any weird senior them." Chung said, waving his hand as he left the room.

He left the dorms in quite a rush. Truth is, he didn't knew were the class was going to be celebrated, so he was checking the schedule on his Elshard when he hit something. He lifted his head to see, and regret seeing; he ran into Raven. Again.

"What is your god damn problem kid? Not once but twice?!" Raven asked quite annoyed.

"I am sorry, I was checking where military training is being held and…"

"Yeah, excuses and more excuses… Follow me if you're going to that class and stop being an idiot." Raven said giving a rather hard push on the freshmen back.

Chung realized that Raven wasn't wearing his uniform, he was wearing a weird black suit that hugged his body. A long white coat draped over the suit. More importantly, he carried a long sword sheath on his belt.

"Are you attending military training too?" Chung asked.

"Why would I be guiding you if I wasn't?" Raven replied.

For the rest of the jog Chung didn't said anything more. After a little while walking they reached a bus stop inside the campus. A row of students were making a line. Every one of them was carrying a weapon or some sort of device. None of them was wearing the school uniform and that made Chung feel kind of weird for being the only one doing so.

"Don't worry about it, newbie; they'll lend you a recruit uniform once we are there."

"Are we going outside the campus?" Chung asked.

"You'll see once we are there." Raven answered before getting in line.

They were called by name and rode the bus. It wasn't a long trip. They exited the campus and headed south. Once the buildings became shorter the bus stopped. They arrived at a skipper station. Roll was called before they boarded the skipper.

The skipper was a small sky ship designed to transport small groups of people over small distances. They took off from the station and flew over Altera. Fifteen minutes later they landed on a small floating island that was situated in the south shore of Altera, a few meters under it.

"We are now below Altera's sky level. If you don't know about it shrimp, sky level equals to sea level in floating Islands." Raven said to Chung as they stood up.

"Yeah, I knew about it, but thanks anyway." Chung said, without obtaining any response.

They disembarked. The small island was totally occupied by what looked like a training camp. There were obstacle courses, firing ranges and other kind of facilities. A man wearing a full red commander suit came closer. He was taller than any student and had many scars adorning his face. He wore a serious look all the time.

"Attention, all students salute instructor Edan!" The man who accompanied the students shouted.

Most of the students didn't know what to do exactly, so they just formed a line and waited for the man in red to speak.

"Alright maggots. You are here to learn the way of the soldier and for nothing more else. In the three months this subject lasts I will teach you how to obey your superior orders. That goes without saying that I don't want to hear about any of you slacking off or acting smart." Edan said.

He looked at the students faces.

"Here you have to say Yes Sir!" Edan said before heading to a big building in the field.

The students followed him without a word. He was quite the oppressive teacher.

"Now get in there and grab a uniform or a weapon if you don't have anything suitable."

Chung walked into a big basketball court with tables occupying the sides of the play area. There were uniforms and various weapons lying in them. From swords to guns including magical wands and staffs. He grabbed the uniform; it was just a green pair of pants and a white t-shirt with heavy boots. There wasn't anywhere to get changed and since he was the only one wearing the uniform he just looked for a hidden place beneath the stands to get changed.

Once everyone was ready, Edan lead them to the obstacle course. It was composed of a tall wall with a rope hanging, a big pond of dark water, a bunch of barbed wire near the ground right above the mud and a lot more of weird contraptions.

When Edan was about to start he was interrupted by some of the students suddenly whistling and complimenting someone. When Chung was able to see who was the one causing the ruckus he got his arm pulled by Raven. The look of the senior was enough to make him stay in line instead of getting distracted.

The receiver of the cheers was a girl, probably as young as the younger students; who was wearing a white adjusted suit that hugged her skin making her look nude from afar. As she came closer, Chung saw a blue core on her forehead and some pink stripes that ran across the suit and some estrange gears floating behind her back. The newcomer glared at the students who were whistling at her, which made every one of them freeze instantly. For some reason that Nasod gave out a deadly aura.

"And this Nasod you see here is mistress Q, she will be taking care of the experienced recruits, so if any of you already have any kind of experience in this matter, please follow her" Edan said.

Some students separated from the group and left with her, while others groaned in disappointment.

"Hey, that one never held a weapon before." One of the remaining students said.

"Enough chatter. We are going to see how much of a soldier you are right now. You will face the obstacle course, and you better get a good time out of it!" Edan shouted.

The recruits were placed at the start, right under the tall wall with the rope and Edan let them start the course by turns. It wasn't as bad as Chung thought earlier. Most students were able to complete it as if it wasn't so different from a normal P.E. class. Chung noticed how Raven easily completed the course even before the two students that started before him. He was incredibly fast and really strong. On the tall wall he skipped half of it with a single jump before grabbing the rope. Jumping over the puddle was like a game for him. It was quite formidable seeing him ace the test so easily. It actually inspired Chung a little. He only did military training at home, the house servants being his partners they never were too exigent on the little prince. However, it was weird for Chung to think that guy with such skill usually spend his days bullying people for fun. He looked at his senior face, it brimmed with determination. Almost like he placing his own life on the rope, even thought it was just a class exercise.

Half an hour later everyone had their turn. Edan gathered the students with the results. He looked at them once before going back to his notebook.

"Ok, the time is not as bad as I was expecting, good job. However let's get serious." Edan said before going back to the course's start and shouting.

"Now I want you to repeat this test carrying your weapon of choice, and you will repeat it until you match your previous results or collapse from exhaustion. No complaints, get moving now!"

There were some groans and complaints though, Raven looked around, almost all students carried a suitable weapon, then he spotted the junior he was looking for. Chung had already placed his huge cannon on his back. It did so with a weird harness he carried with the cannon. It looked durable and the carrier didn't seem too bothered with the supposed weight of the gun. However Raven knew it would be troublesome.

Edan gave Chung the sign to start and the former quickly grabbed the rope hanging on the wall and started climbing it. It was going fine until he reached half the wall. The cannon was swinging around so much that Chung found it difficult to keep stable on the rope alone. To make it worse every time the cannon hit the wall the impact made Chung slide down a bit centimeters.

"That thing must be light for a Hamelian like yourself but remember that it's still on your back!" Edan shouted seeing the student struggle to keep his weapon in place.

Chung had no choice but to step down and secure the cannon on the harness better. But it was no use since his own movements swayed the cannon, making the climbing a pain again. He tried to use his legs against the wall as a way to keep it more balanced, but that made the rope break, making both the cannon and gunner fall.

"Get back up and find another way."

Chung stared at the wall. It could be easy to pass over if he fired a round beneath him to propel himself, the recoil of the cannon was more than enough to launch them.

"Need some help?"

Raven was standing now next to him. Also a little queue has formed since the rope broke. Surprisingly enough Raven lifted the cannon with his mechanical arm without effort. Chung never thought he would know a human other than a Hamelian knight who could be able to lift the cannon. Raven then tied the remains of the rope around the cannon and offered the other end of the rope to him. Chung grabbed it quite perplexed and then Raven launched the cannon with his Nasod arm. The cannon passed over the wall and fell on the other side, acting as counterweight for the rope. Being so heavy itself, it lifted the two of them effortlessly. Being pulled up by the rope until passing over the wall themselves. They landed at the other side, were the cannon was lying over cracked ground.

Chung thanked Raven and continued the test. Next was the pond jump, it was easy for him since he was already used to jump with the cannon. Crawling under barbed wire however proved to be ridiculously hard. The cannon would get tangled on the wire if he carried it on his back, but carrying it at his side caused the mud to stuck to it keeping it from moving. It took only 5 minutes for him to traverse the ten meters the barbed wire covered.

"Alright everyone, let's end it here today. After all, the course had been broken." Edan said, giving Chung a condescending look.

They gathered their belongings and waited for Mistress Q's group to arrive. When they arrived, Chung saw that Mistress Q wasn't wearing her weird suit; she was in her teacher uniform instead. The few students that followed her were in horrible conditions. They were covered in sweat that a clearly visible trail of sweat ran from their necks to their pants. And Chung even thought that there was a student missing.

"Student Patterson had to go to the infirmary due to a minor lesion on the ankle." Mistress Q stated after arriving.

"Damn it Q; I told you to be easy on the rookies." Edan said to his colleague.

"I only ordered them to proceed with the appropriated training considering their ages, genders, weights and heights." Mistress Q responded.

After returning the uniform and getting his clothes back, Chung and the entire class went back to the skipper. The way back to school went without incidents, except for the huge traffic jam that stalled them for about an hour. A lot of cars angrily sounding their claxons to a lorry that just got stuck on a turn.

"I never thought you would take a class seriously" Chung said to his senior Raven seeing the traffic would take a lot to clear.

"You call that being serious? It was just child's play." Raven answered, resting his arms on his nape.

"You could have left with Mistress Q group."

"Hah, after seeing the ones that went after her it's clear that I did well staying."

Some other students on the bus were also chatting. Chung picked up a theme that seemed to be repeating a lot. Something about the expedition.

"Raven, do you know what they are talking about?" Chung asked, lowering his voice.

"What, you didn't know? Why did you sign up for this class?" Raven asked "The expedition is what we will be doing at the end of the semester. The class will be separated in two groups. The ones with the best results will board one of the Nasod sky battleships while the other one will get stationed on a ground base. And we will be visiting the demon war frontline."

"A Nasod Sky battleship?!" Chung asked.

"Yup, so a lot of people are excited about it since they could be picked to be part of the Nasod Navy on the future. While the ones that will get stranded on ground… well… let's say they will spend the whole expedition peeling potatoes."

"Wait, so you are interested in joining the Navy?" Chung asked.

"That's… none of your business little man."

After saying that, Raven turned on his side and slept. Chung was puzzled about it. That guy wanting to join the army is something he would have never imagined before. But he also was excited now. A Nasod Sky battleship. The zenith of nowadays technology. He couldn't wait. Back at Hamel his father wouldn't let him ride such a war machine on his own. He was glad he was not at home anymore.

It was already night when they arrived at the dorms. Chung was thankful that tomorrow was Saturday. He was already heading for his room when Raven called him.

"Hey, kid, why don't you come with me for a drink?"

Chung hesitated. Raven was a bit rude to him the first time they meet. And even when he was acting so friendly today, he felt like it was kind of weird.

"I don't know, is already too late."

"Oh, don't be so lame and just come if you want."

Chung decided to follow him. They walked to the canteen, situated between a clothes store and a mobile shop on the lower floor of the dorms. Chung spotted Elesis and some other guys who were apparently waiting for him.

"What's this? Did you pick up a puppy on your way here?" Elesis say mockingly when she saw Chung.

"Nah, this guy here is cool, he survived today drills so at least give him a shot." Raven said.

They all got inside and walked to the darkest place. Situated on the most remote corner from the door. The waitress didn't take their order, she directly brought some glasses and a big bottle of transparent liquid that Chung doubted was water.

"I thought students weren't allowed to drink." Chung said nervously.

"We have an agreement with the bar owner. We keep the scum away and they let us do as we please."

He couldn't help but think that the scum was actually them. But preferred not commenting on it since he was sat with them.

Elesis started filling the little glasses with the unlabeled bottle and placed one right in front of Chung. He had never drank before, but in his mind his responsibility was fighting with his teenage curiosity. He just thought that a single one wouldn't hurt, and downed it the same way Raven just did.

It was like swallowing a sip of fire. The fluid burned his throat and caused his insides to twist.

"Hey newbie, you'll end really bad if you try to imitate this old dog here." Elesis said laughing out loud while patting Raven in the shoulder.

Chung just gave back a nervous smile. He was already regretting accepting the invitation when Elesis placed a refilled glass in front of him.

"Take it slowly this time."

It was quite vexing for him since everyone was staring at him while he slowly sipped the glass. It was like if he were a little kid. The mood lighted up as they drank, Chung kind of let aside the alcohol for the night. He was listening to the crazy stories the guys were telling.

"Don't believe them. They are just trying to impress Elesis to do you-know-what tonight." Raven said, leaning against Chung with a lower voice.

"There's something I would like to ask you." Chung said, after turning his sight away from the wooers. "Why did you invite me tonight? I mean…"

"You want to know why I've been nice to you today? Well, I don't have any interest on picking on weaklings you know?" Raven said, getting back to his seat and closing his eyes as he laid back.

"I'm not a weakling." Chung said quite irritated.

"Yeah, whatever you say, your majesty." Raven answered jokingly.

"There's something more…"

Chung was about to reply when the sound of a glass shattering caught his attention. He looked in the direction of the sound to see a waitress that was looking quite annoyed. She was next to a table of three guys, everyone of them laying their eyes on her.

"Come on, little cuttie, why don't you stay with us some more." Said the tallest of them.

He was holding the girl's waist, which maybe the reason the glass fell. Chung felt nervous about it, he wanted to do something about her, but someone from his table already stood up and went over there. It was Elesis. She arrived at the table gathering everyone looks.

"What? You want to come to our party too, little girl?" The guy said.

Elesis didn't responded, she instead launched a fast jab to the molester chin. The hit was strong enough to kick him out of his chair, falling on his back. The other two guys quickly stood up, but Elesis was faster than them, grabbing the empty bottle on the table and smashing one of them on the head with it. He fell back on his seat unconscious. The last one was about to punch Elesis. She evaded one punch, the other one grazed her face and then she grabbed the guy by the collar of his shirt and by his belt with the other hand; threw him over her, falling the guy head-first on the ground. The first guy was getting back to his feet, knife in hand. Elesis reached her wooden sword on her back, and with a fast slung, she hit the man head with it. The sound echoed in the room and a small stream of blood ran across the man face, falling down too.

After that, Elesis came back and ordered the others to drag the molesters outside. Chung was amazed at the girl's skill to fight, he kind of expected her to be able to fight, but taking down three adversaries at the same time was quite the feat. Also, he couldn't stop looking into Elesis face, from the moment she first hit that man, she was wearing such a big smile.

"Well, that's what our agreement is about little boy." Elesis said to Chung when she saw him staring so intently.

She took her place back and faced Raven, who was nearly sleeping.

"Hey, don't you dare sleep through the night already. I have something to tell you about tomorrow." Elesis said.

"What is it?"

"I've been told those bitches from South High are going to bring weapons." Elesis said, trying to lower her voice. However Chung was still able to hear.

"So what's the problem? We'll carry them too."

She left the discussion at that and downed another glass.

Two hours left, it was already past beyond curfew. Elesis was so drunk she had to be carried. Unfortunately Chung was chose for the task along with Raven. They had to secretly carry her to her dorms without letting anyone see her. They somehow managed since there wasn't a soul in the streets.

"Are you going somewhere?" A voice called from behind.

Nervous, they turned away, just to find Elsword standing alone in the street.

"Elsword, you scared me." Chung said annoyed.

"What's up little one?" Raven said.

They waited for Elesis to say something but it looked like that wasn't going to happen.

"Chung, that guy can carry my sister alone; you should come with me and get to the dorms before the student council found out."

"Your sister?" Chung asked confused.

Then he realized why he felt like knowing Elesis. She was a lot like her brother.

"He's right, Chung, just go with him." Raven said, grabbing Elesis and carrying her on his shoulder.

Chung followed back Elsword to the dorms. In the end he didn't asked Raven what he wanted to know. But since they would see again next week didn't paid too much attention to it. He was now more interesting in boasting with Elsword about being able to ride a Nasod Battleship.


	4. Are we there yet?

"Today, humanity celebrates the victory the knights of Belder achieved fighting the demons in the south region of Ranox, gaining terrain against…"

The TV was airing a special news report; however nobody in the room was paying too much attention. Ciel and Raven were both sitting on their beds. Raven was leaning against the wall dozing off while Ciel sat with legs crossed. Lu was sitting between Ciel's legs, with hers bent, giving her a place to rest her head as she listlessly watched TV. There was a faint white smoke floating in the room, as well as a soft scent of weed.

"Hey Raven, you're going out?" Ciel asked, seeing his roommate getting up.

"I have business with the others today."

Saying nothing more he left the room, leaving the other two alone. A few minutes tick by before Lu turned off the TV and spun herself to face Ciel. She smiled at him. Ciel saw Lu's eyes looking at him through half-lidded eyes. A vague smile on her face revealed how high she was.

"Ciel, let's do that."

Ciel rolled his eyes, already knowing what that "that" means. He couldn't say he disliked it, but it was something else that bothered him; something more. Lu rested on his chest waiting for him to answer. He reached the already lit joint that was resting on an ashtray; a forbidden item to have within the dorms walls. He took a long drag. The smooth smoke filled his mouth giving him a warm sensation. He held it in his and leaned towards Lu. She came closer, her lips less than a centimeter away from Ciel's. He released the smoke in a soft blow, while Lu inhaled it. It was for less than a second, but their lips did touched, neither objected. Lu leaned back letting the smoke flow out of her nose before finally blowing it away. The smoke rose to the ceiling forming a circle and dispersing.

Lu let out a small laugh before snatching the joint from Ciel's hands and taking a drag. It was Ciel's turn now. He waited for her to fill her lungs and leaned forward. She came near again. There was a scent in the air that didn't belong to the weed that Ciel picked up. It was a sweet scent that Ciel easily identified as the fruits shampoo Lu used. Lu lips opened and puffed the smoke at Ciel. She was so near that Ciel could feel the warm of her breath. It was enticing, tempting. He leaned a bit more against her. In the little time that exchange lasted, their lips touched again. Lu pulled back, but Ciel waited in the same position. Lu looked at him waiting for him releasing the smoke. But he instead leaned against Lu. The smoke escaped his lips as he reach for Lu's. This time they weren't simply touching. It was an actual kiss. Ciel froze the moment he felt the soft wet lips against his. Unsure of what to do next.

However his chance flew away when Lu suddenly pulled away coughing.

"Damn it, I swallow a bit." She said between coughs.

Ciel fell back on his mattress. None of this was out of the ordinary. Lu didn't seem to care about him kissing her. Worse. She didn't seem to realize that was even a kiss. It was always like that. Every time they were high and alone, she would want to do stuff like that with him. She usually says that it's more fun, but for Ciel it was started becoming more of a tease, no; a torture. To have access to Lu's sweet and soft lips yet not to being able to actually kiss her. Or like this time, kissing her, but not receiving. Ciel closed his eyes in frustration about it. He felt a pressure on his chest. Lu was leaning over him.

"Ciel, are you ok? It'd be bad if you sleep right now." Lu said.

Ciel rose again. He embraced Lu, she expectantly looked at him. This day Ciel wanted to make the same bet than the other days. He got his face close to Lu's, maintaining eye contact at any moment. He wanted to make sure his intent was clear. Lu still didn't move an inch. Nothing out of the ordinary. He kissed her.

The kiss was plain, Lu wasn't resisting it, but she wasn't reciprocating it either. She merely let her lips be caressed by Ciel. He continued to embrace her until she finally moved her hands to grab Ciel by the wrists and pull away.

"It's ok to have some fun Ciel, but let's stop here." She said, standing up and sitting in Raven's bed.

Ciel didn't say anything. He collapsed again in his bed. Not looking at Lu, with his eyes fixed on the roof, he waited for the next thing she was going to say. It was something he already knew, since she would usually say it.

The Elshard on Lu's pocket made a ringing sound. She quickly pulled it out and an holoscreen displayed a written message.

"Alright, I got to go Ciel. My boyfriend already finished training. It was fun, I'll see you tomorrow."

And with that she rushed out of the room.

"Why did you even come in the first place?" Ciel asked to himself while he pressed under his eyes, feeling a headache coming on.

* * *

"Alright, now it's your turn to attempt the experiment. Remember what I taught you just now and follow the steps carefully"

A small dog-like creature in a white lab coat presided over chemistry class. His students began rushing to form groups of two or three to reproduce the experiment they just saw. The teacher jumped off his stool and roamed the class with notebook in hand.

Ciel was standing alone, waiting for someone to join his experiment. Of course it'd be Lu who was the first person who came along.

"So, what did _mister bow wow_ tell us to do this time." She said as she yawned with a tiny tear showing on the corner of her eye.

Lu wiped a tear and rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"To combine the reactive in the flask A with the catalyst on flask B, and use another reactive to stop the reaction while observing the outcome." Ciel said.

Lu sighed as she let herself drop on her seat. She looked totally exhausted. Her eyes were also red and her skin looked a bit pale.

"What's with you today? Are you hungover?" Ciel asked while pouring a flask of blue liquid into a bigger glass.

"Oh nothing it's just that I couldn't sleep well." She asked, averting her eyes.

Grail came close and observed how the experiment was going. Lu tried pretending she was the one observing the outcome by taking some notes about it. She was lucky that Grail didn't check the notes since she could only manage to make gibberish on the paper.

"You're really in bad shape. Just go home, I'll cover you somehow." Ciel said.

"No, I'm alright, I want to be here."

It was weird because it literally looked like she would rather be anywhere but the chemistry class. Ciel stared at her. She wasn't her usual self. Acting lazy and not caring about class was normal on her. But being so quiet and calm was bad news. He wondered if she was ill, or if there was some other problem.

"Mister Grail. I'm not feeling alright. I think I have a migraine. Could I go to the infirmary to get some kind of painkiller?" Ciel asked out loud.

Grail looked at him and without saying anything he motioned for the door.

"Just in case, can my partner accompany me?" Ciel added pointing at Lu.

"Yeah, whatever, just go and don't waste any time in the hallway." Grail said before resuming his observation of the class.

The two of them exited the classroom and headed to the infirmary, at least until they were out of sight. They were in the corridor that lead to the fire exit, so there wouldn't be anyone walking over there. Lu dropped herself against the wall and curled in a ball, hiding her face between her knees. Ciel watched her, waiting for some kind of explanation.

"Did something happen yesterday?" Ciel asked.

"I'm not ready!" Lu shouted.

Ciel flinched. It took a bit for him to realize what Lu was talking about. "Ready for what?" he thought. Lu stared at him as if she was expecting him to say something, then hid her face between the knees again. Ciel tried to recall. He was sure something had to have happened yesterday with her boyfriend. Who was he called again? Lento or something like that. He was a good looking guy with nothing but birds in his head, and a weird strong desire to join the army.

"Did Lento… make you do something?" Ciel asked, carefully choosing his words.

"Ciel. I don't need you being an idiot, too. He wanted us to do it, what else would it be?" Lu said at the same time she crossed her legs and wrapped her arms around them.

"He didn't force you into it right?" Ciel asked.

"Of course not. I wouldn't allow him to do such a thing. But…"

"But?" Ciel asked, leaning against her.

"He's being an ass about it. He says that if we don't do it he will break up with me." Lu explained.

"What the hell? Just toss him away, why do you even bother with-"

"It's not that I don't want to do it" Lu interrupted.

Ciel shut up. He couldn't believe the words that just went out of Lu's mouth. She wanted it? Ciel was fully aware that Lu never did it with anyone. So did she want to do it with that asshole?

"But I can't. I'm not ready, and to top it off, he's just acting stupid. It's not that a big deal, if he was so desperate he could work himself out in his bedroom…" Lu continued.

"Don't do it with that guy." Ciel said.

"Huh? Why not? It's not like he's ugly or something…"

"Because I don't want you to do it with him."

Lu remained silent. She waited for Ciel to continue, but instead Ciel turned and left.

"Grail said not to take long; lets head back." He said.

The way back was really awkward. None of the two spoke a single word. Grail looked annoyed by their late arrival so he asked them both to write a report about the experiment instead after class was dismissed. Lu followed Ciel until they reached the entrance; there he headed to the male dorm while Lu went towards the training field. Ciel looked back to see her in the distance, with the light of the sunset he could only see two black figures meeting with each other. He punched a near pillar in a rage fit, catching the attention of Raven who was nearby.

"Hey dude, you ok?" Raven asked getting close to him.

"Heh, of course. Where are all of you going?" Ciel replied.

Right beside Raven, a group of black dressed, threatening students gathered. They all wore a long black coat over their student uniform. They eyed Ciel briefly.

"We have some work to do. Well I guess you'll be happy since you can spend all evening with that girl." Raven said.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ciel said, turning to leave.

Raven got back at his group at the same time Elesis arrived. Ciel entered the dorms and rushed to his room avoiding everyone in sight. Once there he collapsed on his mattress.

"I have still an hour until she comes here… that's if she comes today." Ciel thought to himself.

* * *

Elesis lead her group to the main gates of the academy grounds. Everyone walked at a fast pace, looking in every direction, with their hands tucked inside their coats. Upon arriving at the gates, a man dressed in blue uniform stopped them.

"Halt. Where are all of you going?" The man asked.

"We are just going out with our friends." Elesis answered.

"With so many?" The man asked not convinced.

"I have a lot of friends." She answered again.

He looked at the group behind her. It didn't take much to realize they weren't exactly the friendly looking types.

"Come on man, you're fucking ruining our weekend. Just step aside and get back to your pointless work." Elesis said, pushing aside the man.

"Wait! You have to tell me where you will be until you came back."

The group didn't answer. They went outside and kept going deep into the city center. The street they were walking along was a wide avenue with a four lane road and a trolley car in the center. They rushed to catch the trolley on the move and occupied the empty seats.

"All right guys. We are going to have a little `chat´ with the trash from South High technical school. I hope you all came prepared for it." Elesis said looking at the group.

After that she went to the rear and stayed outside. Raven joined her.

"I hope the info you got isn't made up." Elesis commented.

"I can assure you it's not. In about an hour, the gang from South High would met in the abandoned loading stand. After that they'll be receiving the package." Raven said, lowering his voice to a whisper.

Elesis punched the railing, bending it.

"Fuck that scum of South High. They not only dare to enter our territory; they want to bring their shit with them!" Elesis said with rage.

"We'll crush them and kick them out of the neighborhood." One of the group's members said, hearing Elesis.

Everyone else agreed. Good thing the automated trolley was empty. They rode it until they reached a street filled with abandoned buildings. That street used to be Altera's main industry node, but as Altera grew more populated not only by Nasod, the pollution the factories caused was starting to be a problem, so most companies were transferred to the outskirts or the surface. Now all that remained were abandoned sheds with broken crystals.

This was a hotspot for criminals and poor people alike, so the street wasn't frequented by normal citizens. Elesis raised her hand and her group split in smaller packs. They knew where they would be, after all; the entire place was one of many playgrounds for Elesis' gang.

The target was a green painted shed. Not very tall, but surrounded for a large wall that covered a wide area. The place was big to allow heavy transports in and out. Elesis climbed the wall and looked over. There she saw their enemies: the students of the South High technical school. They named themselves "The Banthus bane". And as if it wasn't enough with the name, the Banthus guy was a really egocentric guy who was always causing trouble to everyone else. However, it was really weird for people from another school to mess in the affairs of Elesis gang, since every band on the city already learned to fear them.

They were loading some big crates onto a truck that was waiting there.

"Any sign of the providers?" Raven asked from the ground.

"Nope, there are only pigs here." Elesis answered.

"Lets storm the place then." Raven said, heading with his group through the main gate.

Elesis followed her friend and made a signal for everyone to enter. They rushed through the unwatched frontal gate at the same time the others jumped over the wall. The Banthus guy's realize they were being assaulted and left the crates to confront the threat. In mere seconds, a big battle had begun. Students from Empress Academy outnumbered the ones from the South. It was going to be an easy victory, until some reinforcements arrived.

"I see the preppies showed up." A loud voice called.

Elesis stopped hitting an already defeated opponent to look at the newcomer. It was a tall and very muscular guy. With light brown hair and an eye patch. He was wearing South High uniform, which consisted on a white t-shirt and brown jeans. But to Elesis concern, he was carrying a massive sword like weapon. It looked like a sword sheathed in leather. Not only him, but other students from his group carried other weapons ranging from baseball bats to knives.

"Well, if it's South High most uncivilized pig." Elesis responded.

"Get your asses out of here if you don't want to die, you brats." He demanded.

"Do you think you're going to get away with this, Banthus?" Elesis said, right before charging in.

The battle intensified. Elesis allies were also hiding their own weapons under their coats. The leader of South High group targeted Elesis directly. He swung his huge sword fast enough to hit Elesis. But to his surprise Elesis didn't back away, she threw her fist at Banthus's face, forcing him to backstep away in time to avoid losing his teeth.

He kept swinging his sword, not allowing Elesis to come near. However she was agile enough to avoid any other hit. She waited for Banthus next swing, and she attacked with a kick, however this time the target was his wrist. Banthus felt a sharp pain in his arm as he dropped the sword. He realized after looking at the place Elesis had hit that his wrist may have been broken.

Elesis didn't waste time and threw a straight punch to Banthus face, this one connected and throwing him into the ground. She kneeled on top of him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, planting her fist into his face again and again. He tried to move his arms but Elesis legs were right on top of them. Elesis was so distracted with his face, that she didn't see another student charging against her, knocking her on the ground. The student however was immediately caught by Raven's mechanical claw, and thrown with enough force to fly a great distance before crashing into a wall.

Elesis got up and went back at Banthus, he was already up and this time was able to defend himself, landing a well placed punch to Elesis's jaw. It didn't stopped her for long, since she returned fire, burying her fist into Banthus's gut. He keeled over in pain just to let Elesis grab him around the neck and knee him on the chest making him fell on his knees. Elesis took the chance to elbow him on the back.

Banthus dropped on the ground to be kicked by Elesis. His fellow fighters fleeing after seeing their leader defeated.

"Alright, that's it for you." Elesis said, wiping the blood from her mouth.

She said that, but everyone remaining there was in really bad shape. She herself had a cut in her lips and a bleeding nose. She let her group catch their breaths for a while. Banthus lied there, half conscious.

"Ok, lets grab the loot and zoom out." Elesis shouted.

They all got the crates and started opening them. Elesis was excited about seeing the contents until Raven finally was able to tore the crate open with his claw. The content was nothing but a lot of pirated DVDs.

"What the fuck is this shit?" Elesis said, looking at the other crates just to see similar contents.

She rushed to Banthus and turned him face up with a kick.

"You, scumbag; where is the wine?" Elesis shouted at him.

He didn't answer. Only then Elesis realized.

"Shit, we got tricked!" Elesis said.

They leaved everything there, included Banthus; and rushed back to the academy. They didn't ride the trolley this time. They were walking at such fast pace that everyone in the street had to move aside for them to pass. They were fixing their injuries on the move using a variety of health potions. Soon they stood in the Academy gates, only to found a pair of students. Elesis told her group to go to the dorms without her, and went to approach the two persons waiting. They were Aisha and Eve. The sub-president and the president of the student council.

"Good evening ladies." Elesis said as she approached them.

"Cut the shit talk, grunt." Aisha said.

Elesis stared at her surprised. Aisha's bad mood was famous amongst the students, however, next to her, Eve just stared at Elesis with a perfectly balanced face. She wasn't sure if Eve was angry, happy or bored. Most likely the last one, giving her lack of words.

"Are you going to explain yourself or what?" Aisha pressed the redhead.

"Well, we just happen to got caught in a bar fight." Elesis said casually.

"Please"

This time it was Eve who was talking. Both of them shut up.

"Do not bother making up excuses. We have proof that you and your so called friends were in a gang fight on the abandoned sheds of the old factory street."

Eve accusation was everything Elesis needed to resign herself. She had learned the hard way that the president was relentless on disciplining students. Somehow, she was able to avoid getting caught until today. To make it worse, since she was the president of the student council and a very important person in Nasod society, the amount of power and control she held over the school was huge. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that her words weighed more than the principal's.

"Such actions are extremely dangerous for your health and your friends. If you wish to uphold our school superiority over the uncivilized pigs of South High…"

Both Elesis and Aisha froze at Eve's rude way of talking about the other school.

"…you could just exceed in our monthly sports competitions."

"Oh, you're right. O your highness! I won't do it again." Elesis responded, already walking away.

"Not so fast!" Aisha shouted.

Elesis stopped annoyed, she could be let off the hook if it weren't for `Miss Rotenmeyer´.

"I am sorry to announce that you ought to be punished for your actions. Since you not only endangered your friend's well-being, but the schools name too; I order you to make sure that the School Tower lower walls are free from those tasteless paintings."

She was referring to the graffiti some members of her gang had made.

"You are free to ask for your friends help on the task." Eve finally said.

Without anything else, she left, followed by Aisha. Elesis sighed, she was actually lucky that the punishment wasn't worse. She went back to the usual pub, where she knew she would find Raven.

* * *

"It looks like the wine wasn't there to begin with." Raven said.

"I wonder who the hell took it." Elesis added.

The wine they were talking about was the famous Elum wine. Even though it was called wine, it didn't came from grapes. It was a mixture of different type of El stones combined with some secret material. What made it so special was their incredibly stimulating effect and it's hallucinatory capacities, along with the fact that it was actually not dangerous for the health, unlike any other drug.

Some years back it was available in every bar in town. However, even if the drink alone wasn't dangerous; the people who drank it were a threat. Due to the stimulating, hallucinatory effect, they would usually end up causing trouble, so the Nasod government banned its consumption. Still, the drink was harmless to Nasods, and they even claimed it was good for them to have. So they applied a restriction to its consumption, only allowing Nasods to buy and drink it. Due to this, it turned into a luxury item that only rich Nasod could afford. That was the reason a lot of people wanted to smuggle it.

It was their original goal to steal it, but now the wine was gone, and they were caught by the student council. Such bad luck Elesis couldn't believe it.

* * *

Ciel stared at the ceiling. He reached for his Elshard in his pocket. It was a beautiful star shaped crystal that displayed a holoscreen floating in front of him. He quickly browsed through his contacts until reaching Lu. Then he typed a message, pausing before finally sending it. He remembered when he got that Elshard; it was a very exclusive limited edition, only available to buy at Hamel on launch day. It was also expensive as hell, and Ciel really liked it the first time he saw it, but he couldn't even afford it. And just some weeks later, on his birthday, Lu gave him a cute envelop that contained such precious Elshard inside.

A knock on the door put him out of his thoughts, he rushed to the door at the same time he looked at the clock. "Crap" He thought to himself. Lu had arrived and he hadn't sent her the message. Trying to feign not being at home wouldn't work since she knew he would be here so he just resigned and went to open the door. However he wouldn't expect who he found. It was Lu, as always, but this time a tall guy was behind her.

"Ciel, this is Lento. I hope you don't mind I invited him over but I guess I should introduce you two."

Ciel did his best to put a fake smile on his face when welcoming Lento in. He got back at his bed while Lu and her boyfriend occupied the other one. There was a thick silence, then Ciel turned on the TV to try and break the ice.

"Today, a group of students from the South High Technical School were found badly hurt on the ruins of an old shed. The police suspects of another gang fight…"

They listened to the TV for a while before Lento finally spoke.

"So you're Lu best friend huh?"

Ciel merely looked back at him and nodded. What a lame way of asking it. Lento looked like he wanted to say something more, but then his own Elshard rang. Lento quickly picked it up and walked out of the room to talk.

"Ciel, be more polite to him!" Lu yelled at him once her boyfriend was outside.

"I didn't say anything."

"Well, that's also pretty mean and you know it."

Their little discussion was cut when Lento entered the room again, he looked like he was in a rush.

"I'm sorry Lu, it was the captain, they need me as soon as possible in the training field."

Lu looked really disappointed as she watched him gather his belongings and exit the room.

"But I guess I'll be finished by tonight. I'll give you a call when I'm done and we can still meet as planned."

Lento leaned to whisper something on Lu's ears that Ciel couldn't hear. Whatever it was made Lu giggle and turn red. She whispered something back and then bid farewell to Lento with a kiss.

"So, you're still having trouble with that…?" Ciel asked once Lento left.

"Well, I think that I will be ok. He told me the higher ups had their sight on him and that he could be promoted into the army soon."

Ciel didn't care, even though it was incredible news for a student to be promoted into the army so soon. He got up from his bed and faced Lu.

"I said earlier I didn't want you doing it with him." Ciel said.

"I am sorry Ciel, but it's not for you to decide." Lu answered.

Ciel turned his back at her. The thought of it dancing in his mind was driving him crazy by now.

"Besides, why do you insist on me not doing it with him?" Lu asked.

"He's an idiot, you said so yourself. And also, he would only last one month, two at best; as your boyfriend. Right like everyone else before him did." Ciel answered.

"That's not a reason to not give him a chance." Lu insisted.

Ciel didn't say anything more. He wandered the room before finally stopping by the window. He watched as a group of students fought over a discounted piece of clothing in one of the shops.

"Ciel… why don't you tell me the actual reason?" Lu asked.

"What actual reason? I already told you." Ciel said.

"Right… Well, I guess it's better if I head home, then." Lu said, exiting the room.

What was I thinking… Ciel thought to himself. Saying such things in front of Lu just to satisfy his inner envy. The actual reason he wouldn't want Lento, or any other men. The truth was that he actually loved her. He wasn't sure when it started, but he knew that every time Lu would come up with a boyfriend, he would feel his insides contorting. He was afraid that any of those guys could take Lu away from him forever. And yet he was still unable to convey his feelings, scared of the outcome. He was just happy with what he already had; the company of his loved one, a stolen kiss once in awhile, and a lot more. He was just lazy. Maybe if he even asked Lu out earlier they could be dating by now. He blamed himself for it until he fell asleep.

* * *

 _ **I hope you're all enjoying it so far. The story now will be starting to focus on specific characters and events since I guess you already have an idea about the whole world the AU is set in.**_

 ** _Next chapter will be up soon. Tell me if you like the story! :3_**

 ** _PD: By the way, I want to let you know if you don't already do, that if you leave a review without a loged account I won't be able to reply to you. So don't forget to log in if you want to ask or suggest anything :3_**


	5. Another Brick

A pure electrical sound pulsed at the rhythm of the blue lights that illuminated the otherwise dark room. A huge dance floor made of color changing tiles adorned the center of the night club situated outside the walls of the academy. It was on a street named the Pier, even though it was far away from the sea. The place was the main attraction to tourist and party lovers alike, being the center of all nightlife in Altera. Said club was known as the Nasod Whim, and it was as full as ever. The place was also known by the Island school gangs as a neutral ground. And with that in mind, Elesis arrived followed by her comrades.

The light blue lights alternated with black ones, making every movement hard to see. Elesis crossed the dancing floor and headed to the stairs in the back which lead to an upper area where one could see all the people on the club. This was the VIP area. The man guarding the door let Elesis and two of her friends through. Meanwhile Raven decided to pay a visit to the bar with his guest.

"Are you having fun?" He asked taking a sip from his beer.

"It's even better than I was told." Chung answered.

The young prince was invited over by Raven to "get used to the island culture." The truth was that Raven wanted to convince him in joining the gang. However Chung was more interested in the club than listening to Raven. His eyes darted from one detail to another. He didn't even taste his drink.

"Don't you have clubs like these in Hamel?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, there are some but Father would never allow me to go to one." Chung said, facing the bar and looking at his glass.

It was a blue liquid floating over a black one. Somehow the two fluids weren't mixing at all.

"That's called an _oil refill_." Raven said, and seeing Chung's face he added: "Don't worry, it's not actual oil, it's vodka and lemon soda separated with something called… huh…"

Raven didn't finished explaining when Chung took a sip of it. It was a weird taste, the blue part numbed his tongue and the dark one scratched his throat. He made a weird face after swallowing, earning a laugh from Raven.

"All right, let's get you something more soft."

"Am I going to drink more?" Chung asked.

Raven didn't answer, instead he searched for the waitress. A beautiful blonde girl wearing a small top that revealed her navel made her way to them.

"Hi Rose, how's work?"

She let out a sigh and gestured as if she was being hanged by the neck.

"The boss said that I have to attend the whole bar alone today. I don't know what that bastard is thinking but there are just too many people here for one person." She complained.

"Well, I'm sorry for hearing that, get the boy here something that he could drink."

Rose looked at Chung before turning back and choosing from the wide collection of bottles on the shelves. She came up with a green and white cocktail.

"Is that even drinkable?" Chung asked.

"Don't complain boy, this will grow some hair in your chest." Rose said.

"Weren't you going to give me something softer?"

Raven laughed and continued chatting with the waitress. Despite having so many people waiting, Rose indulged herself in a long chat with Raven, that she would only interrupt to hand some quick drinks.

Upstairs, Elesis sat across a table. She was in a premium balcony, with glass walls that slightly muffled the music. In front of her was a huge man, his face covered in bandages. Two grunts flanked his sides. His appearance didn't exude much of a friendly aura at all.

"I'm asking you again, what did you do with the cargo?" Elesis asked at the man in front of him.

"Even if you ask, what you saw is all we know of." The man answered.

The air was tense. The bodyguards Elesis brought looked like they would jump at the slightest pin drop.

"Banthus, don't you dare treat me as a dumb back alley bully. Are you seriously telling me that you risked your men's lives just to get your hands on some stupid DVDs?" Elesis asked, leaning forward on her chair.

"Of course not, you retarded bitch." Banthus answered.

After looking at each other for a while, Elesis convinced herself that nothing could be learned from that conversation. She stood up and headed out without saying a word.

"Why do I even bother?" She wondered as she left to meet with Raven and company.

The conversation with Rose already made some of the clients angry, so she couldn't help it but get back to work. Elesis updated Raven on the situation. Meanwhile, Chung was being hit by another girl that just appeared.

"Hey, handsome, why don't you came along and give us some company?" She said as she pointed at her friend.

Chung recognized the person she was referring to. It was Ara. She was wearing a black minidress with a short skirt and a lace pattern on the sleeves. She smiled at Chung as he approached.

"Re-Rena, I told you not to do that… last time you got us mixed up with a shady bunch."

Rena laugh it off. She was wearing an impressive black sleeveless dress with a semitransparent window on the front that revealed her skin from the neckline all the way to the belly button.

"Don't worry dear, I know these guys." Rena answered pointing at Raven and Elesis.

She went to meet with her friends, leaving both Ara and Chung alone. It was then that Chung realized this might be one of those times where you have to do what you have to do.

The words of his father, the King, echoed in his mind, Chung would always feel embarrassed when he talked with his father about girls, but for once all that knowledge could come in handy.

"That's a nice… uh… a nice dress." Chung said stuttering a little.

"Oh, thank you. I'm not really used to these kinds of places so I didn't know what to wear." Ara replied gingerly.

So far so good Chung thought in his mind.

"I'm a newcomer to this, too. Raven just invited me over." He said.

"Well, I got dragged by Rena since her friends were busy and she didn't wanted to come alone."

A little commotion appeared on the dancing floor. The disco's thugs were asking a group of people to abandon the establishment. Apparently, all of them were students from other schools. Even though that disco wasn't anyone territory, there was a black limousine parked in the entrance.

"After what happened the other day, something changed. I can't say I'm happy about it, but I think that those idiots are gone now." Elesis said to Raven.

"However, the idiot that's about to make her appearance might be even worse." Raven answered, grabbing a bunch of peanuts from a near bowl with his mechanical arm and stuffing them in his mouth.

The limo opened it's doors and a man in black suit exited the car. He offered his hand to another person. And with that, Eve emerged from the luxurious car. She made her way into the night club. She was wearing a long black dress that hugged her body with its skirt opened in the front, exposing her two long white legs. She didn't walk into the pub, she let herself hover over the ground. Not long after she entered the building, the place was flooded with members of the student council.

"Yuck, and I only wanted to have a fun night with the gang." Raven said.

"Yeah… about that… I have to go; I have some work to do." Elesis said.

"At this hour of the night?" Raven asked surprised.

Elesis just nodded and made her way out the disco. She was unaware of it, but Eve followed her with her eyes as she left.

"You're not telling me were she's going right?" Chung asked Raven.

"The truth is that it is also a mystery for me." Raven replied.

The party was getting more interesting. Rena and Ara's group joined with them, bringing a bunch of good looking ladies along. Chung was having fun when he received a call on his Elshard. He took it out and looked at the clear surface of the sphere to see a picture of Elsword in it.

"Hey Els, what's up?" Chung said after picking up.

"Dude! Where are you? I forgot my freaking keys and I can't get in the dorm." A voice sounded from the artifact.

"Again?! I tell you every day to take them with you. Wear them as a necklace or something." Chung complained.

"Sorry man, can you just come here and open the door for me?"

Even if Elsword had asked, Chung was enjoying the night. He had managed to have a fun conversation with Ara. And Raven and the others didn't look like they wanted to leave anyway.

"Why don't you come hang out with us them? We're on the Whim" Chung suggested.

"You're hanging out with those weirdos again, right?"

Chung wouldn't exactly use the word "weirdos" but he knew Elsword wasn't really fond of them.

"I'm sure you would get along if you came, they're not as bad as you think." Chung said.

"Nope man, I don't care if they bully kids or not. I just don't want to get in sister's way." Elsword explained.

Getting in his sister way. What would Elsword mean by that? Chung thought to himself. Just as he was about to ask Elsword about it Ara suddenly interrupted him.

"This is my favorite song! Mister Chung, would you dance with me?" She said, already grabbing him and dragging him to the dance floor.

"Mister Chung? Oooooh man, you should have told me you were with a girl." Elsword said, followed by a laugh and continued: "Don't worry about it man, I'll ask someone else to let me borrow their room for the night, have fun, and use that thing I gave you the other day!"

Chung was about to complain again but the connection was cut from the other side. He glanced at the dance floor. It was packed with people already dancing. Humans, Nasods and all kinds of humanoids displayed their moves there.

Da-da-da-da-da…. Dance?! Chung thought to himself. It was literally the only thing Chung can't really do. Since he was always utterly embarrassed of dancing in public. However he only recalled dancing in ceremonial balls held between royal members, which also meant the only thing he knew about dancing was a waltz. It was too late, however, since Ara already pull him away from the safety of the bar and plunged him right in the middle of the dancing floor.

The song currently playing was really loud and fast. The lights were flashing, laser beams drawn beautiful patterns and a fog machine filling the place with a mist that was colored by all the lighting. But the most surprising thing was the girl in front of him. She was moving her body as if she were the only person in the whole room. Her feet flew from one step to another fast, her hips curved with every beat and her hair shake along with every movement. The whole time she was smiling and looking at Chung, waiting for him to join the dance. Was she not aware of how uncomfortable he was?

However Chung felt like he shouldn't let her down right now and tried to dance. Since he didn't know what to do he just started by moving his arms a bit. He looked around and saw the other people already dancing. Why would he be so worried? Nobody there looked like they knew how to dance. Everyone was moving the way they liked, or rather; the way they enjoyed. And with that in mind Chung allow himself to move his legs a bit, then his arms a bit more, and finally his whole body was dancing. Ara's smile got wider as his dance partner got into it.

Some songs later Ara finally got satisfied with dancing. Chung couldn't believe how tiring dance actually was. They looked for their friends and found Raven leading Rena outside. He had his right arm wrapped around Rena's waist and was holding a vodka bottle on the other hand. He stopped when he saw Chung and Ara coming.

"Hey, nice moves boy." Rena cheered on Chung.

"Yeah, you did half great out there, Chung. I'm going to walk her home since it's kind of late. You… huh… don't wait for me." Raven said.

Chung nodded and bid farewell to them. He was left alone with Ara again. And from the looks of it, the party wasn't even close to finishing. Ara ordered another two drinks and gestured Chung to follow her. They went upstairs to the VIP balconies.

"Look, that one is free." Ara said, pointing at one of the glass walled rooms.

"If you ignore the gorilla guarding the entrance." Chung said.

"Oh, that's not a problem. Follow me." Ara said.

She boldly walked in front of the huge suited grunt that protected the balcony from unwanted guests. Chung was speechless as he follow her.

"Excuse me, you can go away now. I have arrived." Ara said once she was in front of the huge guy.

He looked at her with disbelief.

"Names?" The grunt asked.

"How dare you not know my name!" Ara yelled.

"Ara…" Chung said tugging from Ara's sleeve.

The huge guy didn't take the joke as funny, he raised his hand as if he were going to knock her out.

"Don't worry, they're with me." A female voice said.

The guardian looked over her and immediately bowed and disappeared. Chung and Ara also looked to meet their savior. It was Eve, she was followed by a group of members of the council, Aisha between them.

"You do have some nerve trying to enter here." Aisha said while laughing.

"If you wanted to enter so badly you could have ask me before. Try not to get into trouble next time." Eve said, entering the balcony.

Her group followed her along and they sat in a semicircle, it looks like they were going to hold some kind of meeting rather than enjoy the music.

"You're not coming in?" Aisha said, seeing the two of them standing still at the entrance.

Chung took a quick glance at Ara and grabbed her by the arm before saying:

"Thank you, but it may be better if we head home before we get into more trouble."

Even if Ara looked really sad about it, they went out of the disco. The fresh air of the night was really pleasurable after the dense atmosphere inside the building, not to mention the smell of tobacco and sweaty people.

"Where do you live?" Chung asked, opening his Elshard to check any unread messages.

"In the girls dorms." Ara answered.

"Alright then, since we both live in the dorms why don't we go together?" Chung said.

He was a bit concerned about her, since she wasn't able to walk straight; maybe that last drink was too much for her. So after his offering both of them started walking. There weren't many people in the streets at that hour, nor many cars either. Only the casual peasant that they would encounter every 5 minutes. They saw a vending machine and Ara asked Chung to buy some water for her. She was starting to light up. He walked over the machine and ordered the water. When he opened his wallet to pay it, he found that thing Elsword gave him some days ago. It was a square plastic envelope with a ring-shaped thing inside. He closed it at the same time his face went totally red. He looked back to check if Ara had seen it, but she was busy looking at her own Elshard.

"Calm down, there's nothing like that going to happen tonight." Chung said to himself.

They finally arrived at the school dorms. The campus was totally empty and the lights were out. Only the lights on the stores' windows remained lit, giving the whole place an eerie aura. They finally stood in front of the girls dorms gates. It was time to say good bye and Chung wasn't sure about how. He actually wanted to ask Ara to go out some other day, but a hard silence had set between them.

"It was fun tonight, would you like to… um… to go out some other day?" Chung asked nervously.

"Only if next time you hold up until late." Ara answered with a smile.

She quickly got near him and gave him a kiss in the cheek before leaving. He stood there with a flustered look on his face and his fingers traced the little spot she kissed.

* * *

Elesis huffed as she waited in front of the student council room for Aisha to call her. She was still wearing her class uniform and lazily browsing through her Elshard when she came out of the room.

"Come in." Aisha said.

Elesis walked in the room. It was a normal classroom whose chairs and tables were arranged to form a U with a single chair in the center. Although there was a lot of people there, the president dismissed all of them when Elesis came in, Aisha included. Now they were alone.

"Elesis, this is the third time this week." Eve said, standing up and walking towards the windows.

"I'm starting to think you have something against me." Elesis answered swinging in her chair.

"Quite the contrary, we would not waste time with you if it weren't of our interest." Eve added, facing Elesis.

The president walked over to her desktop and pulled out a big folder of papers that were deposited on Elesis' lap.

"That's your history registry for all your bad actions during the time you spent in the school. It was almost empty… until last year." Eve said.

Elesis stopped swinging in her chair. Eve looked at her by the corner of her eye. Since Elesis refused to speak Eve continued.

"Before that your grades were top class. You easily achieved an average of 10 in all your subjects. However, since last year your grades started going down suddenly."

"I still have a high marks in everything." Elesis protested.

It was true, the actual average grades of Elesis rounded the 9. However that didn't stop Eve.

"You do have the brains, which mean that what is missing is the aptitude. Tell me, Elesis; what has driven you to down this path-leading a school gang that borders crime?"

Elesis didn't answer.

"I'm sure I don't need to tell you that what you do here will affect your entire life. Are you sure you want to throw that away just to hang out with some troublesome students?" Eve continued.

But Elesis didn't say anything more.

"If you don't want to cooperate, you'll be treated as a normal troublesome student. Next time I call you here, you'll be punished." Eve said.

"If that's all you need to tell me, then I'll leave." Elesis answered.

She stood up and walked out of the classroom. Eve didn't say anything more, she only followed her with her eyes. Right in front of the classroom Elesis found Aisha, waiting alone in the halfway.

"Your owner is waiting for you." Elesis said jokingly.

Aisha gave a disgusted look to Elesis and entered class. Elesis was going home; however she could hear something inside the classroom.

"I insist on it Eve, don't waste your time with those criminals. We should ask Penensio to expel all of them."

Elesis shrugged and walked away. Not like she cared about it, everyone who followed her did so on their own free will after all. This time she was called to the president office because she was discovered smoking weed on the campus. The other two times she was also caught doing similar actions with her friends. However she was always the only one called in, while her friends would get an immediate punishment. She was actually tired of it.

She decided to go to Raven's room instead. She needed something to relax after that session with the president. She took her Elshard from her pocket and plugged in its earphones before playing its stored music. A rock theme about a man wanting to see his beloved one again drowned out any other sound. Elesis let herself walk distracted to her friend's room, and once there she only realizes that Raven was waiting on the hallway.

"Hey Raven, what's up?" Elesis said.

Raven answered by placing a finger on his lips.

"Keep it down; these lovebirds are at it again." Raven said in a soft tone.

"Again? How much time do they need?" Elesis complained.

Raven shrugged, Elesis let out a sigh.

"The president caught me again with the others smoking. She said next time she will punish me." Elesis said.

"Next time? She's being trying to scare you with that since the first day she called you to her office." Raven said.

"But this time was different. She even sent out all the other guys from the council and said that she has read my history. And I don't know if it was my imagination but I think she was trying to be mean to me." Elesis added.

"Trying to be mean to you?! She must be bloody sick of dealing with you; of course she would be mean." Raven answered.

Both of them remained silent. Trying to hear what was being said inside the room.

"So are they going to do it or what?" Elesis said.

* * *

"Want a bit more?"

Lu said while she sat on top of Ciel crossed legs.

"Yeah, it has a good taste. How do you do it?" Ciel answered.

Lu took another chocolate cookie from her bag and placed it on Ciel mouth without dropping her controller. A two player videogame was paused on the TV, some short of 2D side scroller beat'em up game. After Ciel munched the cookie she resumed playing.

"Your character looks cute, was that the same outfit she was wearing yesterday?" Ciel asked.

Lu let out a nervous laugh as she continued to play.

"Don't tell me you wasted money on this game, again, Lu."

"I can't help it, those costume outfits are just too cute to let them go away."

Lu's character swung a big sword over a cartoony monster while wearing a cat one-piece pajama. Ciel sighed as he turned his sigh over his portable console. He was playing some kind of visual novel game. He was holding it in front of Lu, so he had to look over her shoulder to see the screen. The scent of her hair conditioner was distracting enough for him to not be able to choose between the dialog options in his game.

"Ciel, choose this one." Lu said pointing one of the possible answers.

"No, this character wants to marry that girl, so I shouldn't say something so rude." Ciel said, discarding said option.

However Lu just pouted at him.

"It's not rude, it just a bit harsh, but you know, you can't always be too good or you'll make a fool of yourself." Lu said, resuming her game again.

She just completed the stage for the 967th time. She was so close to get an achievement she really coveted. Ciel thought about it for a second. It was true that Lu's option was harsh, but maybe if the other character understands it, it was a better way to convey his avatar's feelings. However he was distracted by something else again. Since the other day, Ciel hadn't mentioned Lu and Lento again. He was wondering if this was an appropriate time to do it. Lu moved in place to celebrate her beating the stage again. It was a sarcastic form of celebration since she looked rather exhausted at that point; however her swinging around pressed uncomfortably against Ciel's leg causing him to groan in pain.

"Oops, sorry Ciel." She said.

That little jolt of pain was enough to wake Ciel from his thoughts. He put the portable console away and stared at Lu's back.

"Hey Lu, about the other day… Did you two…?" Ciel asked, not being able to say it.

Lu continued playing as if she hadn't heard it; however she was frozen in place, meaning she actually heard it and was only pretending. After a while of both of them silenced, she finally spoke.

"Do you want to know?"

"I asked so, I guess I do." Ciel answered.

"Why, what good would it do for you to know?" Lu answered, looking back at him.

"I'm just asking, you know, as a friend wanting to know how his friend's doing." Ciel said, averting his eyes from Lu's ones.

"Yeah, we did it. We are together so it's normal for us to do it right?" Lu said, looking again at the screen.

"You're lying."

Ciel put his hands over Lu's shoulders and turn her around.

"Why do you think so?"

"I can tell, I've known you for long enough. Every time you lie your nose twitches." Ciel said.

"Leave my nose alone!" Lu complained hiding her nose and turning back to her game.

Ciel didn't push the matter anymore. The truth is that he was relieved. But he knew it wouldn't last long. They were a couple as Lu said. After a while Lu turned off the game and curled on Ciel lap. Ciel felt a bit awkward about it.

"You know Ciel, I would like to have more support from you. You're an important person to me. However you did quite the opposite."

"I can't support you with that. I'm sorry." Ciel said.

"Yeah. I lied to you, I admit it. But I didn't lied because I don't want you to know, I lied because I was… embarrassed." Lu said, standing up and walking over the other bed.

"Could it be that you have some reservations about it?" Ciel asked.

Lu looked away, giving Ciel her back. No one said anything else. The door slammed open and Elesis walked in.

"Sorry to barge in, but I got tired of waiting." Elesis said, jumping over the bed Lu was lying in.

"I'm sorry dude; I couldn't keep her quiet anymore." Raven said in a whisper to Ciel.

"No matter." Ciel answered.

"Elesis!" Lu yelled, jumping to hug her.

"How's my little favorite marshmallow doing?" Elesis said, giving a strong stroke to Lu's hair.

So strong that it made Lu's hair all disheveled. She complained but Elesis continued as if she hadn't heard anything.


	6. This is ours

Smoke and dust floated in the dark hallway. Chung leaned against a corner and peeked out. 10 meters from his position he spotted someone hiding behind another corner. Chung hugged the big black rifle he was carrying and made a signal to the two others accompanying him.

He jumped out of cover pointing the rifle towards the enemy and taking his shot. His two companions ran straight to the other side of the hallway. Chung caught a glimpse of the enemy as the target abandoned the safety of his cover. He lined up a shot. However, before he was able to pull the trigger, a stream of blue magical bullets came from behind the enemy targeting Chung. He tried to dodge them by ducking on the ground, however it was too late. He felt the shock from the energy bullets as he hit the ground, and then a whistle was heard.

"Chung, Welling, Sarah, you're out!"

Instructor Edan pointed at the three of them as they stood up with a groan and left the training ground.

"Raven's team is the victor of today's trainings." Edan pointed them.

Upon hearing the results, everyone spectating the match started packing up to leave. They were in the training grounds simulation chambers. A big building where the center was cut out into an arena-like field, where a special terraforming platform morphed the ground to simulate any kind of terrain. Chung watched as the walls of the the environment around him slowly melted away into a brown wooden floor.

"That was a good match, shrimp." Raven said approaching Chung.

It was already night, they slowly walked out of the camp. Mistress Q was waiting for them next to the skipper with her group of students already on board. As always they looked like they went through hell. Before the skipper took off, Edan claimed everyone attention.

"I guess at this point of the year you're all aware of the expedition. I want to remind you that if you want to take part, you must tell so to Instructor Q and pass her aptitude exam."

Everyone responded with a vague "okay" and the skipper took off.

"Hey Raven, are you taking the exam?" Chung asked.

"I think I'll pass, there is something important I must take care off and I can't be absent for so long." Raven answered.

The skipper flew over the city. Since it was late at night the city looked like a shadow dotted with lights. Only the main plaza, full of neon ad big screens was bright enough to see what was going on from there. They landed and boarded the bus. Their military training didn't end until they were on their beds.

"Do you want to come with us?" Raven asked once they left the bus.

"Well, I suppose I could" Chung answered.

They headed to the usual bar. Elesis was already there with some of her gang's members. And surprisingly enough, Eve was there too. The president was wearing the school uniform and was sitting in a table right in front of Elesis. They weren't talking, Eve was reading a newspaper while she sipped some coffee and Elesis' gang was eyeing her as if they were looking at some unpredictable predator.

Raven threw his backpack next to Elesis and sat, the waitress brought him the usual drink even before Raven ordered it. Chung was also served what he used to order there: an electric soda, the most popular drink over the world. A blue colored glass bottle with a light blue liquid inside. Once the waitress opened it, blue sparks flew out of it.

"What's the president doing here?" Chung asked.

"She comes very often, actually." Elesis answered.

"And since she's here, try not to do something that would land us in detention." Raven added.

"Will all the other members come as well?" Chung wondered.

"No, surprisingly enough she always came here alone and stays like that until she leaves. Must be her place for stress relief." Elesis said.

Chung looked around. The loud rock music, the dark and creepy decorations on the bar and the odd look of the bar patrons. It was definitely a place not suitable for the school president and even though she was there, sitting with a coffee and a newspaper. She didn't even talk to anyone, nor did she complained of the people smoking.

She was there for approximately twenty minutes and before she left, leaving the money on the table. Once she was far enough, Elesis turned to her friends and spoke.

"Alright, tonight we are going to pay a visit to South High. Tell everyone, we're jumping the wall this time."

Everyone agreed with her before leaving as well.

"Hey Chung, do you want to come?" Elesis asked.

"Huh… I'm not sure if I should go." He answered.

"Don't worry, It won't be too dangerous. You might end up with a broken bone or something, but nothing serious." Raven said.

Nothing serious? Wasn't that serious enough?

"We could use a pair of strong arms. What do you say?" Elesis insisted.

"Well, I guess I can go and watch what goes on." Chung finally said.

"That's my boy" Elesis cheerfully said hitting Chung in the shoulder.

* * *

"Ciel, stop!"

"Give it to me. Now!"

"No! Stop it already."

"Lu, if you don't give it to me I'll have to break it."

Ciel quickly grabbed the small plastic card on Lu's hand.

"Noooo please…"

"You were going to spend money again on that game. I've seen farmers milk their cows less!"

"It's only this time… please."

"I said no. May I remind you last week when you secretly tried stealing my lunch hall tickets because you were out of cash?"

Lu pouted as she stomped out of the room slamming the door shut. Ciel turned around looking at the small credit card. It had a lot of numbers written on it, as well as a drawing of a shy looking blonde girl with a black tiny hat. While he was inspecting it, he heard a scream on the hallway as well as the door opened. Lu entered the room wearing her gauntlets. Ciel evaded the punch that was aimed at his back.

"Hey! Are you out of your mind?" He yelled.

"I wasn't going to hit you for real, Ciel." She answered.

However, he realized that in his dodge the credit card was dropped, and now was in Lu's hands again. He stared at her when she hid the credit card in one of the interior pockets of her uniform. He sighed and let her get away with it this time.

"I hope you don't count on me when you're out of money again." Ciel said.

"Oh, I know you won't let me starve." Lu answered.

Their little discussion was over when a knocking on the door interrupted them. Ciel opened it to see Lento.

"Hi Ciel, I came to pick up Lu."

Ciel didn't answered, he just went back in and gestured Lu over to her boyfriend. She grabbed her backpack and exited Ciel's room with him. They didn't even say anything to each other when she was leaving. After he was alone, he stayed in his bed for a while, staring at the ceiling. After a while his Elshard rang. He quickly checked it, the sound was the one Ciel has set for Lu's messages.

"Sorry about before. I want to repay you. Why don't we go to that popular disco on the urban center tonight?" The message said.

Ciel rolled over the bed.

"Are you asking me to be your chauffeur?" He wrote in response.

He waited for the response.

"No you idiot. We're going just the two of us. Lento won't come."

He rolled over again and answered.

"Ok them."

* * *

The council room was full of people. Not only students but also teachers gathered there to hear Eve's announcement of the month. After she displayed her leading skills as the student council president, everyone left. After the room was almost empty, Aisha sent off the remaining students and talked to Eve.

"That Disco we went the other day sure was nice." She said.

"Yeah, I already visited it before, but it was good going with all of you there."

"So you've got any plans for tonight?" Aisha asked.

"No. I keep my agenda up to date." Eve answered.

"Come on, I was asking if you want to go out or something." Aisha explained.

"I do not wish to go out tonight, even so; if you would like it, we could hang out in your room."

"That would be marvelous. I have that movie we wanted to watch last week." Aisha said, beaming with happiness.

"Then it is decided."

They left the room and locked it before heading over to Aisha's place. She was staying in the girls dorm. Even if Eve would visit that place often, she herself wasn't staying there. She would always go back to her home, situated in Altera's main tower. Aisha didn't have a roommate, so her room was smaller than the others.

The place was full of Aisha's taste decorations. Posters on every wall depicting rock bands and dark landscapes. Small figurines of a popular TV show about magical girls filled the shelf. A open drawer full of black and purple sweaters and checkered skirts. The space below her bed was overflowing with long high boots. And right near the entrance was hanged a school uniform. A big TV occupied the wall opposite to the entry, while a desk filled the space that would be occupied by a bed if it were a two person room.

Aisha let Eve enter first and sat on the bed. It was still unmade, looking like if Aisha had just left the room. They were adorned with a big picture of a girl riding on the back of a giant white-and-purple bat. She entered second and turned on the lights. While she was searching for the DVD Eve settled on the bed, tugging from the messy blankets to cover herself. It was then that Aisha spotted something terrible on her bed: a white piece of cloth with purple stripes. Aisha quickly snatched it before Eve could see it and threw it inside the drawer. As she was doing that she spotted the DVD, next to the drawer. It was an animated movie about giant robots that fight against huge creatures to defend a subterranean base.

"Would you mind it if I order some snacks?" Eve said, taking out her Elshard.

"Oh, suit yourself." Aisha said playing the DVD.

* * *

The clock reached 00:00. As planned the gang was gathered near the wall, in a particular spot behind a slope. Raven and another man were helping the gang members scale the edge. Thanks to their teamwork the whole group had passed the walls in about ten minutes. Without wasting time they followed their leader.

"So what's the plan when we get there?" Raven asked.

"Find their secret stash." Elesis answered.

They moved along empty streets and dark alleys. Avoiding being seen was easy enough, since most of the traffic would be on the busier commercial streets at that hour of night. It took around half an hour to reach the opposing school.

Unlike Empress Academy, South High Technical School wasn't surrounded by walls. It was actually a short fence made of tall bars that were separated enough to slip through. The place wasn't very big. The main building that housed the classrooms was a 5 story building. It had a rectangular shape, with a smaller annex on one side, which the gang assumed was the gym. There weren't any dorms, shops, nor any other kinds of places inside the school grounds. The school consisted only of the main building, the annex, and a small playground where a basketball court and a soccer field merged in the same area. The remaining space was occupied by a covered area to protect students on rainy days.

"This place looks kind of run down." Chung said.

"What are you saying boy? This place is the standard for a school. If you haven't noticed our school is kind of outstanding." Raven said, helping Chung slid in.

With that said, it shouldn't be many place where the Banthus gang could hide something. They decided to start looking by the annex. A member of the gang tried to open the door with a lock pick. Half an hour later they were still waiting.

"Shit, admit that you don't know how to do it already." Elesis complained.

"It's not so easy, why don't you try yourself." The man protested.

Elesis started kicking his back while he hurried to get the door open. Meanwhile Raven got tired of waiting and asked some members to follow him and search for another entrance. Chung hurried to join Raven since he was also tired of staring at a guy messing with two paper clips.

"It's common for some students to leave the windows open, let's see if we spot one." Raven said.

He pulled out a flashlight and illuminated the walls. Almost all windows seemed shut. They finally found one open, whoever it was on the annex, meaning that it was five meters height. Raven asked one of their companions to bring the "gear". It was a huge backpack Chung hadn't been aware they were carrying. Raven took out a hook with a rope. He skillfully threw it and hooked it on the windows ledge.

"Who would have guessed we would use what we learnt in Military training here, huh?" Raven said handing the rope to Chung.

They climbed it pretty easily, unlike the rest of the members who couldn't follow the two of them. Even if the window was really high, on the inside was just a meter over the flooring near the spectators' benches. Once inside, Chung confirmed the annex was a gymnasium. It had a wooden light brown floor. Long platforms with benches in both sides of the room and an elevated stage on the side, opposing the exit. It also had an electronic scoreboard hanging from the ceiling. Raven checked if he could open the door for the ones outside. The door was designed so it couldn't be opened from the outside without a key, while opening it from inside was as easy as pushing the handle. Luckily for them, the janitor that forgot to close the window also forgot to lock the door.

Once everybody was inside the gym, they started searching every corner. They looked for any sign of movement. Scratched floors, trails in the dust, places undamaged by the sun. Any kind of sign that could suggest something could be hid there.

"If we don't find it here, we will have to look through the main building…" Elesis said.

"Under that stage, there's usually a lot of stacked desks that are unused through the year, so it's a good hiding point right?" Raven said.

"It was literally the first place I looked. Do you think I'm a novice or something?" Elesis answered.

With the search as unsuccessful as it was, Raven headed inside the main building. There were several doors connecting it with annex, all of them unlocked for some reason. As before, Chung just followed him, being new to all of this, he felt a bit mischievous about it, but bewildered as well. Still not knowing what they were searching for, it was a bit hard to even help.

"It's weird that the security is so lax over here…" Raven said.

"Well, it's a school after all." Chung replied.

"Even if it's a school, there's lot of valuable things someone could steal. Like electronic equipment and such." Raven explained.

They were walking along a long hallway with classrooms on each side. All of them appeared to be normal.

"We'll take forever if we have to search them all." Chung complained.

"We won't. If they're hiding something, they would do it in an unused or rarely used classroom. It would be very risky either way, since you can never predict what would happen in class." Raven said.

With that said, normal classrooms were out of question. The same with the labs and the computer classrooms. They roamed the school until they finally spotted what they were looking for: a classroom with its desks in disarray. Some of them were piled on top of each other, and most of them weren't aligned as you could expect.

They searched every inch of the classroom. They even took down the blackboard to look behind it. But nothing was found. As they were about to leave the place and regroup, Chung noticed something weird. The tables and desks were piled there, but they were stored in the gym as well.

"Does a school as small as this one needs to have more than one place with tables stored in it for the whole year?" Chung asked.

And after that, all the looks fell upon the higher stack of desks and realized they hadn't inspected the ceiling. As any other classroom ceiling it was made of square planks of that weird material Chung didn't even know what they were called. They were easy to lift individually, and they could hold things between the small space between the ceiling and the upper floor.

"Good call boy, why don't you take a look?" Raven said handling the flashlight to Chung.

He climbed the pile of desks. They trembled and moved under his weight. When he was on top of them, he was able to push up one of the planks and peer inside. Helping himself with the light he scanned the small space over the ceiling until he finally found something out of place. A wooden box. It was small and didn't had any kind of decoration around it. What it had was a number combination lock on the front. Chung grabbed it leaving the flashlight on top of the planks. When he moved it he spotted something else behind it. A small fur ball that turned to him revealing two tiny red eyes. A rat! He got scared by it enough to lose balance, falling with all the desks on the ground, creating a huge noise. Luckily the box was still in his hands. Raven quickly grabbed him, gesturing for him to stay quiet and pushing him to the door. The others were standing guard there.

"Who's over there?!"

They heard a voice call from the hallway. It didn't sounded like one of their comrades, so they were waiting for Chung to leave. That voice could be the school janitor, or even a serial murderer, it didn't matter since they shouldn't be there in the first place. Once in the hallway they saw the beam of light of a flashlight around the corner and took the opposite way. Raven took out his Elshard. He had it muted so he didn't see the amount of messages Elesis sent him just a minute ago. Apparently while they were still on the gym they saw two vans from a private security company arriving. They were able to safely escape though.

"Going back to the gym would be a waste of time. We will head to the nearest exit and escape through the fence." Raven said to his group.

"Raven! I forgot the flashlight over there!" Chung said.

"Don't care about it. They would find out anyway seeing the mess you did with the desks." Raven said.

Chung felt a bit guilty over it. There wasn't time to worry however. The nearest exit happen to be a fire exit. Raven halted his team to examine the door. He found what he was looking for: the cables that connected it with the fire alarm. With a strong pull of his mechanical arm he tore the cables apart. They broke with a lot of sparks and crackling sounds. He then kicked the door open and everyone ran into the dark backyard. They were almost outside the school grounds when the light from one car illuminated them.

"Hey! You stop right there!" A voice shouted from the car.

Without a second thought they all ran away. The car tried to follow them but they went through a narrow alley filled with trash containers. Since it couldn't drive through, the driver followed them by foot. Chung took a look at their follower. It was a tall man dressed in a light blue uniform. He carried a whistle he was using to try to catch their attention. He was fast enough to not lose them anyway.

"He might call reinforcements, don't slow down." Raven ordered, turning around a corning.

As he was running, he checked his Elshard to see if there was any new message from Elesis. And she did send another one. She was saying most of the gang had escaped, which was a relief. He took a look behind to see the guard starting to fall behind.

"Chung, with me! The others split up after the next corner." Raven said.

The next corner divided on four different paths. Chung and Raven followed straight while the rest of the group divided between the other two ways. Not far from there, the alley ended in a street. The moment Raven a Chung reached it, still with the guard behind them, a car stopped right there, blocking the exit. It was a white car, with the lower parts painted in black. And a big golden shield with a crown drawn on the co-pilot door. Under it four black letters said: A.I.P.D.

"Shit! It's the damn police." Raven said.

He spun around, grabbing Chung by the arm and dragging him away. The guard also stopped and reached for his belt.

"Watch out Raven, he has a Taser gun!" Chung screamed.

The guard shot his weapon. Two darts attached with cables to the gun flew towards Raven. However he ducked just in time to be grazed by them, after that he released Chung, placed all his weight on his advanced foot and connected a strong punch with the guard jaw. He fell unconscious on the ground and they took that chance to run again. This time with the cops behind them. Two of them were in pursuit, asking them to stop.

"We will not harm you, stop where you are!" One of them yelled.

Unlike the guard, the two cops were a lot faster. They were actually catching up. Chung and Raven were starting to tire as well. They abandoned the alleys and headed for an open plaza. An entrance to the highway was near.

"If we cross the highway I bet you they won't dare to follow us." Raven said, heading for the road.

"The highway? You're crazy!" Chung shouted, barely managing to keep his pace.

Altera had an elevated highway that surrounded the entire island, allowing faster travel from any part of the island. It was a wide road with four lanes on each direction separated by a two meters space of green and plants. It was usually filled with traffic even at that hour of the night. Most of the cars were actually automated drones. Crossing it by foot would mean more than 20 meters of a 150km/h traveling death.

They were standing right next to it. A lot of cars at high speed traveled for it. Chung wasn't very sure about it. Was it really worth the risk? All they do was snuck in a school after all. But as he was thinking, Raven walked near a street lamp and used his mechanical arm to hit it. The lamp fell over the road, shoving the tip in the ground that were between the two directions of the highway, creating a small bridge just half a meter above the cars.

"Alright, let's move on." Raven said, jumping over the precarious bridge and crossing. Chung stared in amazement how his friend crossing the bridge without a second thought.

He still doubted. He looked behind to see the two police officers behind him. They were almost on top of him. Raven was shouting to him to cross and in the heat of the moment, Chung decided to follow him. He carefully stepped over the downed lamp and started crossing it.

"What are you doing?! You want to get killed?" One of the police officers said.

The two pursuers stood by the lamp, not trying to cross it. Chung was halfway when he heard Raven shouting. He didn't hear what he was saying because the strong sound of a horn muffled it. He looked to the noise source to see a big truck heading its way. He hurried near the middle of the highway and jumped off right when the truck rolled over the street lamp, sending it flying out of sight. Chung landed next to Raven, he quickly helped him up and they resumed running away.

"Dude! That was freaking awesome!" Chung said feeling a strong adrenaline rush.

"I know right?"

They continued to run along the middle of the highway until the police were out of sight. Once they felt they were safe, they slowed down to search for a safe way of crossing again. Chung then stopped in his tracks. The sound of the traffic was so strong that it muffled something that he could barely hear. The traffic became a bit lighter and then he was able to identify the sound. He turned around and stared in the distance to see a red and blue lights floating in the air.

"What's that?" Raven asked.

"It's a striker! We have to hide!" Chung said.

"Well you'll tell me were because we are totally in the open here."

Chung searched around and found something that might be useful. And after a while he spotted a tunnel entrance in the middle of the highway.

"It must be a maintenance access, let's go!"

They entered the tunnel. It traveled from the middle to the other side of the road. The tunnel headed down, relieving them since they hoped it might lead them outside of the highway.

The exit was in another alley, and since they could hear music they guessed they weren't too far from the commercial street. However right when they left the tunnel, the sound of fire engines could be heard right above of them. They looked up to see their new pursuer. A big sky ship, pretty different of the ones they have used. This one had a smaller hull, and had four fire engines that were able to rotate in almost every direction. The body of the ship looked like a bigger police car; however the way the engines moved around to stabilize the ship gave it a weird flexible look. Four strong lights were attached on the front of it, and they were moving around looking for them. It finally lighted then up.

"Run!" Raven said.

"You two, stop right there or face the consequences." An amplified voice was heard from the striker.

Losing the foot police was one thing, but that sky ship wasn't going to let them. Even if they took a turn at every alley, the striker would still be over them. And they were already exhausted. More sirens were heard and they guessed more police cars were heading their way.

"Hey Raven, let's stop here already." Chung said, stopping.

"What? After we had come this far?" Raven said.

"There's a damn sky ship over us, there's nowhere to run and more of them are coming." Chung complained.

Raven was a bit let down by this. He figured he could manage to escape that situation, but he remembered that Chung was still a spoiled child. However his decision wasn't very difficult. As they were standing there, the sound of something being shot from a tube shook him awake. Something fell to the ground near him and seconds later a green gas was everywhere. Both Chung and Raven tried to run away, but when they tried to move, the muscles of their legs and arms seized, making them fall. The weird smell of the gas made them dizzy as they saw two figures walk over with their faces covered by masks.

"Look what we found, lieutenant."

* * *

Aisha covered her mouth as tears flowed from her eyes. Eve was next to her, eating popcorn. Both of them with their eyes fixed on the TV, where a scene of a destroyed giant red robot lied under the letters "The End".

"Ah… I loved that character, I can't believe she's dead" Aisha said, wiping her tears and taking out the DVD.

"We don't know it for sure, she probably survived somehow." Eve said, lying back and covering herself with the bed's blankets.

The room was messier now than before. Opened snacks were in the floor. There were more clothes outside of the drawer and there was a cold pizza in its box waiting for being eaten.

"Do you want to watch another one?" Aisha said, walking over the pizza and placing it over the bed.

She tasted the pizza, even cold it was delicious. She climbed on her bed to see Eve's face due to the lack of response and she found that Eve was already sleeping. It was cute seeing her totally wrapped in blankets sleeping with such a calm face. Aisha sighed and turned off the TV. She was also feeling a bit tired, but considering the amount of work Eve had to manage daily, she understood her friend. She grabbed another blanket and managed to get comfy in the bed to sleep, too.

* * *

The police sirens could be heard not far away.

"Looks like is a busy night for some people huh?" Lu said, walking happily ahead of Ciel.

They were heading for the Nasod whim. Lu was walking over a fence while swinging her purse in one hand. She chose to dress a plain blue dress with high heels. Ciel was following her on the sidewalk. He was wearing his usual coat. He wasn't sure if he should have gotten more elegant or something. In the end he decided to wear what he was more comfortable with.

The Nasod whim had a huge line in front of it. Lu gasped after seeing it and she nervously looked at Ciel.

"Do you want to get in line?" He asked.

"If you don't mind, I really wanted to come here today." She answered.

They didn't speak much while they were waiting. Ciel was a bit uncomfortable about it. Why would Lu invite him over so suddenly? Especially now that she has a boyfriend. He literally didn't want that issue to come up that night. So he had to force himself to keep his mouth shut about it. Even so the urge to ask about it was really strong.

"Would you dance with me?" Lu asked, cheerfully smiling.

"I hope you learned how to dance." Ciel answered, remembered the pain in his feet the last time they went out.

Lu punched him on his side and pouted.


	7. Night Time

The Nasod Whim was as vivid as ever. This day in particular featured a foam party. The dance floor had every table and booth removed to add room. A floating machine equipped with a bunch of foam cannons as well as speakers hovered over the dance floor, shooting away streams of white bubbles. The entrance was offering a swimsuit rental service for the night, and both Lu and Ciel just came out of the improvised changing rooms. Ciel was wearing deep blue trunks while Lu had a light blue bikini.

"This explains the huge queue to get inside; I didn't know they were going to do this today!" Lu screamed excitedly, running into the foam.

She left a trail in the ocean of bubbles and turned back to call for Ciel. A summer song was playing and everyone was enjoying it, the private balconies were closed tonight and almost everyone was in the dance floor. Aside from the one on top, smaller machines floated around with free drinks. Even if it was hard trying to avoid your drink getting full of foam, Ciel managed to grab a pair of cups to share with Lu.

As the party was progressed, the lights in the disco dimmed and the usual laser lights cast their colorful rays across the floor. The bubbles reflected the lights brilliantly, creating a dream-like ambience.

After almost an hour of dancing, Ciel was already exhausted, and soaked. However Lu was still as fresh as ever. Luckily for him, she realized her partner was already out of energy.

"Do you want to take a break?" Lu asked as loud as she could.

"Yeah."

They made their way to a specific area right next to the dance floor, it was only opened for that day apparently. The lights in the room were red, and a calefactory system kept the place at a comfortably warm temperature, even in a wet swimsuit. It also melted away the foam, keeping the place and the customer dry. A mobile bar was set there; they ordered some drinks and sat on a red leather sofa.

"It's an interesting party today huh?" Ciel said trying to be heard over the loud music.

Lu took a sip of her drink. It was called "Master Mateo": a complicated beverage that was made of vermouth combined with a bit of gin, red grapefruit juice, rhubarb syrup, some drops of lemon bitter and a bit of an egg's white. It was served in a vintage cup and adorned with a twisted peel of grapefruit, a leaf of mint and ice.

Her hair was still wet from the foam. Beads of water slid across her shoulders, back and chest; captivating Ciel's attention. Once she put her drink down she noticed Ciel staring at her. He immediately looked away after being caught and tried to think something to say to break the ice.

"So… how are things going?" He said to her.

Ciel sipped his drink. He had ordered a simple combination of vodka and soda. Even if he hadn't asked about it, he was expecting Lu to say something about Lento, and even though he didn't want to speak about him that night, curiosity got the best of him.

"Well I suppose. Professor Grail says that I'll fail his exams if I don't get serious about it, but I guess I can still manage to pass them… What about you?"

Not being able to hear what he wanted was a bit frustrating.

"I've been doing well, the other day I saw you lurking around the sports clubs' fields. Are you going to join any?"

"Ha ha! Of course not, I was there… hum… waiting for him to finish his training."

"Him? Did she try to avoid using his name for some reason?" Ciel thought to himself.

"But let us not speak about those things today Ciel, we're here to have some fun. Hey, why don't we bail out of here and go to that park we used to visit." Lu continued.

"You mean the park that is near the academy? We only went there to smoke."

Lu got up the sofa; she shook her head to try to dry her hair. The moisture was beginning to make her locks curl. The white locks dripping in front of her face made her look even more cute than usual, or so Ciel thought. They headed out after getting dressed again. The swimsuit rent was incredibly expensive even if it was just an hour or two. The cold night air and the wet sensation that was still on them made Lu tremble with cold.

"Here, wear my coat." Ciel said.

Lu didn't try to reject it and snatched it right away happily wrapping herself in it. The coat was too long for Lu and its lower part was being dragged on the floor as she walked. Ciel pretended not to be cold; however the night was already pretty chilly. The walk between the disco and the park wasn't long. Their favorite park was placed just a couple of blocks away from the academy walls.

Cherry trees dotted the landscape and the park itself was surrounded by huge buildings creating a four squared plaza. However since it was already winter the usual pink leaves were gone, and only a lot of skinned branches remained. The tiles distributed over the park, formed an X shaped path with circles on the exterior. In the center black and white tiles combined to form an abstract image. The park was illuminated strictly by lamplight, and most of the ground not covered with tiles had tall bushes on it, making it darker and harder to see. For that reason the park was usually visited by couples to have some fun, or by students that wanted to do some mischief. But most important was the group of Elesis' gang members that patrolled it, keeping away rival students as well as undesirable visitors.

They walked to the center, and once there they went through an opening in the bushes. They crossed two walls made of bush and then sat between two trees. It was their usual spot. Ciel rest his back against the tree while Lu browsed through her purse.

"Oh, I found it." She said, taking a joint out of the purse.

"Hum? Where did you get that?" Ciel asked surprised.

"I asked Raven some time ago, in case he would be absent or something." She said, sitting in front of Ciel and giving it to him.

"The zippo is in the coat." He said while rerolling the thin paper of the cigarette. It was all messy due to being in Lu's purse.

She taped the coat in search of the lighter. But was unable to find it. Ciel finished readying the joint and seeing her still without the lighter he decided to reach for it himself. However he soon realized that with Lu wearing his coat it was really embarrassing and weird reaching out to it, so he took his hand out of it so fast that Lu laughed. He shook his head and placed the joint in his lips and lit it up.

The tiny light from it painted two orange dots on Lu's eyes as she eagerly waited for her turn. The warm smoke flowed out of Ciel's nose before he blew it out. Lu took the joint from Ciel and took a drag herself and lied on her back. The sky was clear that night, and the stars displayed their beauty in it. The smoke that rose from the lit joint merged with the soft light of the lamps.

A suddenly cold wind made Ciel tremble. The effect from the alcohol was wearing out, and the temperature drop was becoming more intense as the night advanced.

"Are you alright? Do you want me to return this?" Lu asked.

Ciel shook his head. Even if he was cold he wouldn't admit it in front of Lu. Even if that stupid pride would reward him with a pneumonia. However it was evident how cold he was for Lu, seeing how his skin was full of goosebumps. She took a drag and blew the smoke on his face.

"Are you sure? Your lips are getting blue." She insisted.

"Won't you be cold then?" He answered.

It was true that Lu didn't wanted to be cold. So she decided to do another thing. She sat astride on Ciel's lap, facing him; and opened the coat to wrap him in it. He was surprised, however another blew of chilly wind shook him, and he decided to play along. He passed his arms between the coat and Lu back. It was warm. After that he leaned again against the tree and bent his knees to give Lu some support. The cold wind was gone, or rather it was pushed away by the comfort of Lu's embrace.

Ciel almost lost himself to the relaxation of the joint and the hug, but then Lu brought him back with her movement. She was trying to get comfy on Ciel's chest, however her hips were lightly pressing against Ciel's. He tried his best to keep his mind clear of weird thoughts. When she found a good position she took another drag and looked into Ciel's eyes. She approached his lips and blew the scented joint's smoke between them. Their lips touched by a mere instant.

"It's been awhile since we did that" Lu said.

As usual, she gave the joint to Ciel, expecting him to do the same in return. He did follow Lu's little game. Their lips barely touching again.

"I still don't really know why you enjoy it that much. We could just kiss." Ciel said. However he didn't realize he said the last part out loud until he saw Lu's face.

"Do you want to kiss me?" She asked.

"Yeah." Ciel said.

Since he already said more than he should once, he decided to place the bet there. After all there wasn't too many to lose anyway. Lu didn't answer back, so he took the initiative. He placed his arm around Lu's back and drew her closer. Ciel placed his lips over Lu's for a brief moment. They felt wet and fleshy. He looked her in the eyes. They were open, staring back at him; there wasn't a single trace of anger or anything like that in them, so Ciel proceeded.

This time he closed his eyes and locked lips with her. A bit of sucking made them feel more moist, he let his tongue go through, licking Lu's lips. She opened up, letting Ciel's tongue brush against her teeth. And then it met with Lu's. At first both tongues stepped back as if they were scared, but immediately after they searched for each other again. They touched again, and started to move playfully; licking and twisting around each other. The hot air that blew out of Lu's nose made Ciel open his eyes for a second. Lu was with her eyes closed and her cheeks blushed. He resumed the kissing, moving his lips and changing his head position.

They finally broke the kiss, separating with their mouths slightly open. Their eyes met. Lu's head was spinning along with Ciel's. This time it was Lu that went in for a kiss, placing her hands against the tree's bark. She leaned over Ciel more and he realized that he had let his guard down. By the way she was pressing her body against his it was impossible that she hadn't noticed. But since she didn't say anything about it he wondered if she was okay about it.

The second kiss broke. Lu stared back at him panting. The joint fell at some time on the ground and its embers were already extinguished. She leaned over his chest again.

"Ciel. I need to tell you a secret." She said.

"What is it?" He asked.

Lu shoved her face in Ciel's chest and spoke.

"I called you tonight so I wouldn't have to spend the night with Lento."

At first Ciel couldn't understand what she was saying. He was still dizzy from the amazing kiss.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You remember some time ago when I told you he wanted to… do it? Well, we didn't do it… and he had become a bit… annoying from it." She explained.

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that." Ciel answered.

"You're really saying that after we kissed like this?" She said, laughing.

Ciel couldn't help but to laugh as well.

"But, why didn't you do it? I mean, you told me you'll do it." Ciel said.

"It's hard to explain. I just didn't feel like I should do it with him. I love him and all of that but… I feel like our love is just made up. Like two teenagers that doesn't want to be tagged as losers for being virgin or something." Lu said.

"That's probably true for him. I mean, if you're saying he's being upset about it, he might be under some kind of pressure like that."

Lu leaned back to think. She saw the dropped joint and picked it up, lighting it again.

"I've been thinking about ditching him." She finally said.

Ciel didn't say anything more. Even if it was sad it was good news for him. Well, everything was good news for him that night. Lu took the last drag of the exhausted joint. The effect of the smoke was already making them dizzy. Lu faced Ciel again and kissed him. She didn't need tell Ciel that she wanted some love. They started making out again. As they were at it Ciel started losing interest in trying to hide his lust. Instead he ran his hands across Lu's thighs. They were so soft and warmth as her lips. For Ciel, Lu's skin felt like silk.

He decided to try and see where Lu would stop him. Slowly he lift the dress' skirt without breaking their sweet kiss. Instead of resisting, Lu unbuttoned Ciel's shirt. Her small hands caressed his bare chest, giving a calming sensation. He let his hands go up a little more, this time feeling her buttocks and inner thighs.

"Ciel… we should stop here tonight." Lu said, breaking away from him.

A sudden chill awoke Ciel. He saw Lu straightening her dress in front of him. Even when he really wanted to protest, he just stood up as well.

"Yeah, lets head home, it's late already."

* * *

Chung was awoken by a loud voice. He looked around and found himself in a small white room. The source of the voice happened to be a megaphone on one of the upper corners of the room.

"Are you awake, sleeping Beauty?"

Chung nod, even when it was impossible for the speaker to see him.

"In about five minutes you'll be interrogated about the incident you were involved in yesterday."

And with that the megaphone went silent.

He inspected the room he was in. It was a square room of white ceiling, white walls and white floors. There was a single white metal door and the only furnitures in the room were a white bed with white blankets and a white desk, with a pink chair.

"Sorry about that. The jailor thought you were a girl." A voice said behind him.

He looked back to see that the door had a small slit. The sound of a key turning a lock could be heard and was followed by the heavy creak of the door. Chung could see his interlocutor. It was a young man, with blonde hair and muscled looks. He had a messy five days beard and wore a dark blue office suit. An ID card was hung on his chest, displaying the name Jack and the rank: mafia police officer. He gestured for Chung to follow him and they went out of the cell. Chung realized he wasn't in prison. After the gloomy hallway his cell was in, he was surprised to see a big office full of uniformed cops. He was lead into a room on the upper floor. This time it was bigger room, with a chair and a table. He sat there and waited for agent Jack to speak.

"Alright, we'll wait for Lieutenant Connors and then you'll tell us what happened yesterday."

Five minutes later a knock on the door was heard, and Lieutenant Connors entered the room. Chung was surprised to see her. She was a Nasod, but pretty different to all the others. She was nearly two meters tall and her body looked a lot more dynamic than any other Nasod. Her skin was totally white and it was full of black lines that Chung realized they were to allow her skin to move and gesture. Her eyes were black while her iris was made of small lights arranged in a circle. She had long blue hair with exactly three single hairs falling over her face. However they were thicker and looked like some kind of plastic material.

"I am Lieutenant Connors. As I heard you're Chung Seiker, son of Helputt Seiker."

Her voice sounded as if it were some pre-recorded message. It was devoid of any kind of tone, intention or warmth.

"We need to hear an explanation about yesterday's incident." She said.

Chung took a deep breath and explained it. He altered the history. His version was that they entered the technical school to make a hazing to their rival school and that they were found out. Officer Jack was smiling and nodding as if he were remembering his own youth, while the Lieutenant was staring so hard at Chung that he could feel as if she were scanning his soul.

"Were you forced to follow this person?" Connors asked showing him a picture of Raven.

Chung shook his head.

"No, we're friends so I was just hanging out with him." He answered.

"Are you friends with this person as well?" This time she showed an Elesis' picture.

"I only spoke to her a bit."

Both agents looked at each other, but they didn't say anything.

"Hey Chung. Can I call you Chung right?" This time it was Jack the one speaking. "Tell me. How does the prince of Hamel Kingdom end up involved with a gang of delinquents? Did you have a quarrel with your father?"

Jack used a somewhat friendly tone. It was even hard to tell if it was part of the interrogatory or if it was only curiosity.

"Come on, you can tell me. Did he take away the credit card? Said that you cannot go out with your girlfriend? That you're friends aren't a good influence on you? My father was a tyrant too, when I joined the police corps he said I wasn't worth anything. He wanted me to study to be a lawyer."

"Hum… I appreciate the concern, but my father and I have a good relationship, sir." Chung answered.

"I hope you can keep saying that once you arrive at Hamel, because we're sending you there so a hamelian jury can determine your fate." Connors said.

"Eli, wait." Jack said, leaning in to whisper something to her.

"Officer Knight, I told you to not call me that, especially in front of suspects." She warned once he finished whispering.

Once Chung heard their full names he finally realized he already knew these agents. They were usually on TV every time news about a gang or the mafia would be aired. They were Lieutenant Elizabeth Connors and Officer Jack Knight, and they were quite famous for their skill when it came to managing criminal gangs.

"Alright mister Seiker, my partner said that instead of being sent back to Hamel; your punishment will be handled by your tutors here." Connors explained.

As she was saying that, a knock on the door was heard. Principal Penensio and Council president Eve entered the room. They introduced themselves to the two agents and sat in front of him. Chung noticed how Connors bowed to Eve and pulled the chair for her.

"Good morning Chung Seiker. Do you remember me? We met on the sky dock the first day you arrived here. It's a pity the second time we met is when you're under arrest." Penensio said.

"I'm sorry, Principal Penensio." Chung said, lowering his head.

"Don't fret about it. I was once a troublesome child too. However I was able to learn and discipline myself. And this lovely lady here insisted that we should handle this issue." He said pointing at Eve.

"Chung, I don't know how you feel about being sent back under these conditions to your father. However I know that it would harm the school image. And it would be troublesome for your studies too. That's why I decided to intervene here." Eve explained.

"What they are saying, boy, is that you won't be sent back to Hamel in exchange for a punishment in your school. Get your wrist ready because I can already see you filling chalkboards." Jack added.

Eve and Penensio both nodded.

"You won't be writing _I won't do it again_ 1000 times though, I decided that a suitable punishment for you would be helping the student council for the rest of the year. That way you'll be able to know how much trouble you caused to poor Eve here with your little mischief." Penensio said.

Chung just nodded in response. Both Eve and Penensio stood up to leave. They waited at the door for Chung. However before he stood up, Lieutenant Connors spoke again.

"However you're still guilty of destroying public property as well as endangering innocent lives with your reckless actions. So you'll be under house arrest for the rest of the semester. You are only allowed to leave your current home in the school dorms to attend your classes, your new obligations with the student council and to eat. You're not allowed to leave your room to meet with other students; neither are you allowed to meet with them inside the room. And I'll let you know that we will be surveilling you."

With that Chung was allowed to leave. They asked him to wait in front of the gates of the night court to receive the official home arrest notification. Both Eve and Penensio went out without waiting for him. As he was waiting there, the court gates opened and Raven came out of it.

"Raven! I see you're alright. What did they say to you?" Chung asked.

"Hi boy. Glad to see you well too. They beat us up badly last night. Looks like I'm going to spend a couple of months in prison." Raven asked.

"What?" Chung asked surprised.

"Don't worry, someone will come to pay my bail so I can leave earlier. But I'll still be there for some time."

"Too bad. I had Eve and Penensio help me. I'm under house arrest."

"Oh, so the Queen already played her move on you." Raven said.

"What do you mean?" Chung asked confused.

"Haven't you realized? Isn't it weird for you that someone as important as Eve is studying in our academy?" Raven asked.

"Well, now that you mention it…"

"She's right where she wants to be. Empress Academy is the highest class school in the entire world. Only the best of the best are allowed to study here: princes, heroes, geniuses… And sooner or later, EVERY one of them end up owing the Queen a favor or two."

"You're screwing with me here now." Chung said in disbelief.

"You can choose not to believe it if you want. But isn't it weird for you that such a high class academy allows the existence of a delinquent gang under its wing? It's like a favor farm! Almost anyone in the gang owes our dear goddess a favor already. I actually owe her two, and that must be the reason I'm going to jail today."

Chung couldn't believe it. He thought Eve was just being nice, but was she actually just collecting favors? The image of Eve, sitting on the council room; surrounded by her underlings with a twisted smile on her face waiting for the persons that owe her favors to come and pay her tribute in a mafia like fashion just popped in Chung mind.

"Nah, I think you're paranoid." He finally said.

"Chung Seiker! Calling Chung Seiker!"

A voice was heard from inside the court, he quickly bid farewell to Raven and entered. Raven was escorted to the Police Station prison cells by Jack and Connors. Before they ditched him in his cell, he was allowed to make a call.

* * *

Ciel rolled over his bed. His head was pulsing with pain. Every time he would open his eyes the light that entered through the room blinds would stab them.

"Vodka… even if I love you, you treat me like this…" He mumbled to himself.

But that just reminded him about what happened last night. He rushed to get his Elshard. It was resting on the table recharging its battery. He browsed through his message history. Lu hadn't sent anything yet. He touched his lips and remembered the soft sensation he had last night. It was still hard to believe. Then he noticed the time displayed on the Elshard.

"I should be in the club in… two hours ago!" He said, rushing again to get changed.

He managed to put some clothes in him in just two minutes. Every Sunday morning they would do rehearsals of the current play. However he was more interested in seeing Lu. And he figured out It wouldn't be a good idea to arrive late and anger her just six hours… eight hours actually; later than their first real kiss. He was about to leave the room when his Elshard rang. He jolted to grab it, he was actually going to forget it on the table.

"Lu?" He said.

"Yeah, it's me, my dear Romeo."

Ciel looked the Elshard display, it was showing Raven's name and number.

"Dude…" Ciel said.

A laugh was heard from the other side of the shard.

"Actually I don't have time for jokes. Listen up. I'm going to jail right now and I need you to do me a favor."

"Woah, slow down there. What did you do?" Ciel asked.

"Lot of things, don't worry, it's actually only two months. But hey, I can't give you the full details here but… If you look in your drawer, right under where you keep your boots there's a small ventilation grill. I hid a box there with my money. Hum… you'll find the details inside it."

Raven said, looking behind him to see Jack and Connors waiting for him.

"Well that sounds simple enough… And why did you hide that there?" Ciel asked.

"You'll understand it once you get it. Listen, you can have everything else that's in the box, just make sure you come and pay my bail so I can get out. I'll be waiting man."

And then Raven hung the phone. Ciel wanted to go meet with Lu, but actually his friend being in jail was more urgent. So he decided to check that box Raven mentioned. He still didn't understand why Raven would hide it in his drawer.

As he said, the box was there. It was a plain shoe box. However once he opened he was amazed to see its content. Approximately one kilo of weed in bulk with a note in it. Ciel took it and read it.

"Dear Ciel, if you're reading this, either you finally found my secret stash or I'm in jail. If it's the latter you'll have to sell this in order to get the money to pay my bail. If it's the former I dare you to touch my weed. Ask Elesis about selling this."

"Damn it Raven! I'm not a drug dealer." Ciel complained, putting back the box in its hiding spot.

Even if he didn't like it, he didn't want to leave Raven jailed. However, as payback for dragging him into it, he would make him wait a bit.

He finally left the room, heading to the theatre club. He was eager to see Lu. However he still had a weird feeling. He was worried that what happened yesterday was only due to the effect of alcohol and weed. But she only had a single drink and smoked just a little; it shouldn't have affected her that much. No, it had to be real. Ciel increased his pace. He arrived at the club almost running. Everyone was changing into their costumes or putting on makeup. Ciel searched for Lu everywhere, but he found other girl wearing Lu character's costume.

"Hasn't Lu arrived yet?" He asked to the nearest member.

"She texted through the club chat that she was a bit ill and so she wouldn't come today."

The club chat! Ciel muted that chat long ago due to the high amount of spam the members sent through it and already forgot about it. He connected to the NN and opened the chat. A huge amount of notifications filled its display. He searched for the most recent one. How could it be possible for Lu message to be 500 notifications away if only two hours had passed? He tossed the Elshard back at his pocket and headed out.

"Vice-pres, are you going out too?"

Ciel apologized to the club members as he rushed out the room. The message said that Lu had a bit of a fever. It could be true since last night was cold and they were wet due to the foam party, but it could be something else. He ran across the hallways, disrupting every student he stumbled past. When he finally reached Lu's room at the girl's dorms, he saw that there was already someone knocking on her door. It was Lento.

Ciel stayed back and waited. Lento knocked the door several more times before calling for her, but he got no response. A girl from the next room peeked out of the door to tell him she may be resting due to being ill and Lento decided to leave. Ciel waited until he was already far away before knocking the door.

"Hey Lu, it's me." He said after making sure nobody else was present.

The sound of the door unlocking invited him to enter. The room was in total darkness, only a thin beam of light from the upper row of the blind entered the room. Lu was going back to bed when Ciel entered the room. He noticed she was wearing one of his own long lost t-shirts. It was a lot larger than Lu, so it covered almost to her knees and her hands were way into the sleeve. She waved one sleeve at him as a salute and holed up in bed again.

"How are you?" Ciel asked.

"It's just a hungover, I just didn't want to go outside this morning." She answered.

Ciel grabbed the desk's chair and sat next to Lu's bed.

"Is that all? Because I was sure that Lento was here just now." Ciel asked.

"He was? I guess I was asleep."

"Is that so?" Ciel asked.

Lu laughed and rolled on her bed. Ciel looked around the room. The clothes Lu wore yesterday were lying on the floor, as well as her purse. She dropped it open and its contents were scattered on the ground. Ciel kneeled and picked them up.

"Ciel, do you want to get inside?" Lu asked.

Ciel looked at her. She had half of her face hidden under the blankets. She made some place under them for Ciel to slip in. However he was hesitant. He just remembered Raven.

"Actually, I should be doing something else now." He answered.

"I could use some cuddles right now Ciel." Lu asked stretching her arms as if she were trying to reach Ciel.

He sighed.

"Alright, but I'll leave once you're asleep. It's really important that I get my errand done."

Lu smiled. Ciel removed his coat and his shoes and got under the blankets. He squeezed Lu against his chest and she curled up there. Not much later, both of them were already asleep.

* * *

 _ **7 chapters already?!**_

 _ **Well, this sure took a while. I'm happy that I was able to write until here.**_

 _ **However I want to tell you something. This will be the last chapter before things get...lewd.**_

 _ **So next chapter the rating of the fic will go up to M and will contain NSFW things.**_

 ** _That's all :3_**


	8. Retreat

_**Hey! Thank you for holding up until here. As I said before, this will be the first chapter that will contain nsfw stuff in it. So if you don't like it I suggest you don't read this. Although there isn't going to be that many nsfw content on it as it was on my previous works.**_

 _ **I also want to announce that for those of you who really like nsfw and are interested in this story that I will start uploading soon a new work were I will collect all the "deleted nsfw scenes" as well as some possible "what if" scenarios from this current fanfic.**_

 _ **With that said, I hope you continue enjoying my work from now on :3**_

* * *

Elesis sat at the usual spot with some of the gang members. The bar was already closed and, with all the patrons gone for the night, the owner was getting ready to leave. The TV was still on and broadcasting the news.

"A police raid this morning has successfully found a huge stash of Elum. The illegal substance was confiscated and an investigation is underway. There's still no knowledge of the culprits of this trafficking operation."

The broadcast continued, Elesis turned her attention to the others.

"It's just as the report says: the Elum cargo we were going to steal is in the police custody and Raven will be in jail for about a week or two if everything goes well."

The members there mumbled to each other. Elesis gave them some time. With Raven gone, those members were the highest ranks in the gang. They gathered today to discuss what will they do now.

"So, we either have two options: We can go full nuts and raid every possible culprit for the trick, or we can hide till things soften up a bit." Elesis said.

The group kept quiet. Nobody actually was sure on what to do. The Elum cargo was gone forever now that it was on police's hands; however there were chances that that one wasn't the only cargo smuggled into Altera. On the other hand…

"I might just be paranoid, but we've hit a string of bad luck as of recently. I almost feel as if someone is targeting us. But I don't even have a clue. And to top it off, since Chung is stuck in house arrest there's more police than ever on campus." Elesis said.

"What about the thing the kid found?" One of the members asked.

"Oh right, I have it right here. Chung found it hidden in the rafters above a classroom, but he forgot about it when they were discovered. Luckily for us another one took it before running away." Elesis slid the box on to the table.

The box contents weren't nothing more than a simple sheet with a drawing of a black horse in it.

"That's all? We've lost Raven and that new boy over a kid's drawing?" Another member said.

"Calm down, there's a chance this has to do with everything." Elesis said.

"Or it can just be some stupid drawing someone made and hid after feeling embarrassed about it."

Elesis punched the table hard enough to rattle the table. "Everyone shut up."

"As I was saying, this can be useful. Since you aren't watching your tongue, I've decided that we're going to suspend our activities until I say otherwise. Is that clear?" Elesis said.

One by one they all agreed. They started to leave, leaving Elesis alone. She wondered why the bartender hadn't closed up yet. The security gate was halfway down, telling anyone walking on the street that the bar was closed. She took the box and decided to leave as well. Lost in thoughts, she rushed to the entrance, unaware of someone entering. They crashed, the box fell from her hands and so did a newspaper, scattering all of its pages over the ground. Elesis was about to yell to that person when she realized who she was. Student council president Eve.

"How surprising to see you here." Elesis said.

"I come here often enough for you to already know about it, so I don't think it's that surprising."

Elesis decided not to start a discussion and instead she tried to gather the newspaper in order to finish that encounter as soon as possible.

"What is this?" Eve asked.

Elesis looked up to see the box she was carrying in Eve's hands.

"Hey! That is mine! Give it back." Elesis protested.

"I wasn't intending on keeping it. I was merely curious."

Elesis snatched the box from Eve and gave her the ruined pile of newspaper.

"A thanks would be appreciated." Elesis added.

"An apology would be appreciated." Eve retorted.

They stared at each other and then Elesis attempted to leave.

"Actually, I came here to find you, I need you to do something." Eve said before Elesis could cross the door.

"The bar's closed and I want to leave." Elesis replied.

"As I've been told you always excuse yourself before 11:00 PM, and go off somewhere on your own. If you want to be free for that hour, I suggest you stop complaining and get this done."

Knowing there's no way to stop her once she has set her mind to it, Elesis followed Eve to a table and sat down. Eve opened her bag and took out a form.

"That's your student data ID form. You filled one of those in when you first enrolled in this school; however your situation seems to have changed recently so you need to update it. I highlighted the info you need to update by the way." Eve stated.

The bartender arrived with a coffee and a croissant for Eve. She unfolded the newspaper and started reading it while leaving Elesis to fill her form. She quickly browsed through it anticipating some noticeable change. Her eyes stopped by some empty spaces highlighted with red marker such as "current home" and "family situation".

Half an hour later Elesis dropped her pen.

"I'm going to be late. I'm sorry but this would have to wait." She said passing the form back.

"Then finish it at home and give it to me tomorrow, after class ends." Eve answered.

Elesis let out a sigh. She packed it up and left running.

* * *

"Hey, newbie; I need those over here." Aisha yelled over a pile of papers scattered on a table.

Chung arrived with another tower of papers in both hands and left them on the table. He wiped his forehead looking at the huge pile. Aisha quickly divided it into smaller groups that she handled over the other members of the council. They were organized in what Aisha called the "square of efficiency". Basically placing the tables forming a square and making everyone fill part of every document and then hand it to the one on the left. And so on. The only one out of that factory like system was Eve, who was in a bigger, more luxurious table separated from the others. Her usual tidy desk was now a sea of stacked documents and forms, surrounded in dozens of holo-screens that displayed text so fast it was incredible that Eve could even read it. Chung felt dizzy just from looking at it. Aisha finished organizing the team before grabbing Chung's attention.

"Good job, now go get the rest. Are you sure you can handle it?" She said.

"Of course, I'm a Hamelian. I'm much stronger than the average man, this will be a cinch." He answered.

It was the last day before the Harmony Festival. A festivity held all across the world celebrating peace. The school was going to do an open public festival with lots of activities and as a result there was a huge amount of paperwork to do. Of course every single club and organization waited for the last day to submit their forms, so it was going to be a long day. Chung thought it would be easy just carrying the papers in and out. But he quickly understood how mistaken he was. Every single form or document he had to get took an excessive amount of time to get ready. They either would be missing, half filled, or just poorly marked. And every minute that passed he would get a message on his Elshard from Aisha asking him to bring the documents to the council room already. It was incredibly stressful. At the end of the day he was so tired that he swears that shouldering the Destroyer was way easier. He carried the last tower of papers as the sun started to set.

"Good job Chung. I hope this first day did not scare you." Aisha said patting him on the back.

"You can go home now; we'll handle the rest." Eve said, looking over the luminous displays for a second.

"Yeah, we'll see you the day of the festival." Aisha said, walking him to the door.

Once Chung was out, silence fell upon the room. The only things that could be heard were the buzzing of the holo-screens and the sound of pens writing. It was a time race to finish the job and sent it all to the school's office. Eve glanced at her clock and frowned.

"Are you waiting for something?" Aisha said without looking away from her work.

"Elesis should have come today to handle her ID form." Eve complained getting back to work.

Aisha leaned back and sighed.

"Listen Eve, you should stop worrying about those delinquents. They just apprehended one of them the other one is forced to be our personal maid. They're bad people, Eve." Aisha said.

"That's no reason to turn our back on the students." Eve answered.

"Alright, you're right. Look, I'll finish things over here, why don't you go and scold her in person?" Aisha said, walking over Eve's table and lifting her from her chair.

"Are you sure you can manage? There are still 749 documents that need revision." Eve said.

"Just go, don't worry, we'll pull an all-night if necessary."

Eve left the council room a bit worried, so she decided to get that thing with Elesis done as quickly as possible. Frankly, Eve was starting to lose her patience with her. After being so tolerant with her she just continues causing trouble. It was really frustrating the way she just ignored her every time Eve tried to help. Before she knew it she was clenching her fists walking straight to the only place she knew she would find her: the usual bar.

But her pent up rage vanished upon finding the bar closed. The owner decided to go on a vacation during Harmony Festival. In front of the store, a group of students gathered, apparently as surprised as her about the bar closed. She recognized one of them as one of Elesis' grunts.

"You are Henri Flanagan right? Can you tell me where Elesis is?" She asked politely.

"I'm sorry, but she always poofs by this hour... And how do you know my name?" He answered.

"I know every student's name." Eve answered while leaving.

She checked the clock. It was the usual time Elesis would just disappear. However if she was leaving she may be near the gates. So she went there just to be informed by the guard there that Elesis already left a while ago.

"Looking for Elesis?"

Eve turned to see agent Jack and Lieutenant Connors arrive. Their car was parked outside the walls. Jack wore his usual friendly smile while Connors had her neutral face on.

"We are here to watch over some students as we were ordered since the incident" Connors explained.

"Does that mean that you know where Elesis went?" Eve asked.

"We sent people to follow her; however we weren't able to find the place she goes every day at this hour." Jack said.

He pulled a notebook from inside his jacket and started reading various addresses and places that Elesis would pass by in her way to the unknown place. When he finished he tore a piece of it and wrote an address in it.

"This is the address where she always disappears. She enters the huge city mall located there and we always lost her track." He said giving the paper to her.

"Thank you officer. I'll go there."

Eve made a call through her Elshard. In mere instants a luxurious car stopped in front of the gates. It was an all-terrain painted black, with shadowed windshield and windows. The front had a beautiful silver colored design around the air entrance. The door handles and every other detail was also made of metal in the same silver style. The driver door opened and a tall, winged figure emerged from it. It was a Nasod dressed in white robes adorned with gold. His face was hidden behind a golden helmet that obscured everything but his eyes which shined in a beautiful yellow color. The robes moved along the wind so freely that it looked like he didn't have a body under them added to the fact that no legs were visible under them. Both his arms and legs were clad in a silver armor. He moved hovering a bit over the ground to the back passenger door and opened it with a gesture from his hand. The door slid upwards and three steps made out of blue light materialized leading the way into the passenger seat. Eve gracefully climbed them helped by the hand of the angelical Nasod. Officer Jack watched them leave and looked at his partner to say:

"Your buddies on Elision sure are preppy."

Lieutenant Connors rolled her eyes and got back inside the car. It was a disguised police car. Not too gaudy nor too ruined. It was the perfect car to keep a low profile while spying someone. The dashboard was full of half eaten shortbread and cold coffee. An opened bag of chicken nuggets was placed over the gearshift and a suspicious looking camera was hidden in the open gloves compartment.

"Back to work, I guess." Jack said, taking his place on the driver seat and picking one chicken nugget.

Eve's car drove through the places Officer Jack said. Eve thought Elesis might have had a reason to visit them. However after seeing the small arrow on the car's GPS system she realized that Elesis passed by those places to circle the area she was actually going. Probably doing it to check if she was followed. Eve could only think that being so cautious meant that she was up to no good.

"Zadkiel; take me to the mall directly." Eve said to the driver.

The city mall referred in the address was really far away from the school. And there was also a bigger city mall near it, so it wasn't very likely of any student to come here to do shopping. The building was very tall despite having only three floors. It was shaped as a star, with shops and other kind of establishments on each of the star's tips and a big central area. The center had a rounded fountain and a lot of places to sit decorated with some plants here and there. It didn't have any floor over it, making visible the ceiling of the huge building. The shops were arranged close to the walls and the hallways ran along them, creating a big balcony like path on each floor. The top of the city mall had a big skylight that poured its light on the interior. The way the building was designed and the beautiful aura that it had was in conflict with the kind of stores occupying it. Most of them were cheap and discount stores. Not even one brand or luxury store. Even the single jewelry on the first floor looked run down. The building was made beautiful to counter the neighbor it was in. Since it was on the outskirts most of the people living there was low or medium class. Maybe for that reason Zadkiel was a bit worried about leaving Eve there alone.

"I'll be alright; I'll call you when I'm done." She said after stepping down the car.

* * *

A loud whistle marked the end of today's rehearsal. Ciel, Lu and all the other members of the theatre club started packing their belongings.

"All right troop, this week is the big show: the Harmony festival. Use these free days to rest your voices; I want all of you fresh for the big day!" Lu said to everyone from the top of the stage.

Some mumbled replies were heard from the members. Ciel tried to wait for Lu and talk to her but he saw how Lento appeared in the door and called for her. Both of them went outside to talk so he decided to leave as well and send her a message later. He wondered what could be going on between these two.

"Hey, Ciel! Wait!"

He turned after hearing the voice call for him to find Lento running in his direction. Did Lu tell him about it? Ciel was hit with a wave of nervousness.

"So… I was going to go to training with Lu but she said she's going with some friends to buy things for the play. So since you're such good friends with her, why don't you came along so we can get to know each other better?" He said.

Ciel felt relieved to know Lento still didn't know about it, however he still wasn't interested in expending time with him. However he already threw his arm over his shoulders and dragged him along.

"Wait Lento, I have things to do too." Ciel protested.

"Oh, it will be just for half an hour." Lento said cheerfully.

"WAIT, are you trying to recruit me?" Ciel said.

"Maybe."

It wasn't any secret that the kendo club was undergoing some problems due to the lack of members. They already got the citation from the council that the club would be disbanded if they didn't do anything about it. The reason they were in such condition was the humiliating defeat they suffered last year in Elder tournament. A phoru named Wallace singlehandedly defeated all contenders from all the teams. Despite his obvious skills with the sword, everyone that lost to him was considered a weakling, and so the popularity among kendo clubs everywhere started to fall.

"You'll see, now we admit all kinds of swordcraft, not only kendo. You use gunblades right?" Lento said.

"How did you know?" Ciel asked.

"Lu told me. She really speaks a lot about you man."

"Really? And what does she say?" Ciel asked.

"She told me you were really boring until you started living with Raven." Lento said with a laugh.

Ciel wasn't really amused, but he remembers being a shut in until he and Raven were placed in the same room last year. They became good friends since then. They reached the gym where the few members of the kendo club were sat in a circle in the center of the room.

"We could recreate our club with a different name, maybe that would help get rid of our bad reputation." One of the members was saying.

"Or we could train and win the tournament this time." Lento said as he approached the circle.

The members of the kendo club stood after seeing Ciel arrive with Lento. They were as surprised as Ciel himself to be there. Lento asked then to start training so Ciel could decide whether to join or not. Of course Ciel didn't have the slightest intention to do so, but he thought that just watching would make everyone there did took his Elshard to message Lu onlt to find that the NN was out of range there.

"Oh, the only place where that would work is up there." Lento said after seeing Ciel moving his Elshard around trying to get reception.

The place Lento indicated was a window where a ladder was conveniently placed. He actually thanked the fact that it was separated from the club activities. He climbed it and peeked out of the window. He could see the tennis range from there. The Elshard get some bars of reception and he quickly sent a message to Lu.

"Your boyfriend kidnapped me. I'm watching a rundown kendo club."

He looked back to see if someone there was missing his presence but all the members looked more interested in how they swung around their wooden swords. The Elshard beeped with the response from Lu.

"Don't worry about it; he's just desperate to get new members."

"I just want to bail out of here. Why didn't you include me in your excuse?" He typed.

The reply came in fast.

"Because it's not an excuse, I'm actually buying props for the play."

"Ok. Can I just say that you asked me to go over because you needed my help?"

He felt a shake in the stairs and looked down to see a club member gesturing at him as if he were asking how much time he would be up there.

"Fine" Lu replied.

He walked over Lento and excused himself. Despite how down he looked Ciel was actually happy he was able to flee that place. On his way his Elshard finally got reception again so he texted Lu again.

"Ok, I'm safe. But I need to get something done now, want to do something once both of us are free?"

He was planning to get Elesis to tell him what to do with the "goods" Raven gave him. He browsed through his shard until the name Elesis came up on the screen and pressed the call button. It took a while for her to answer.

"Make it quick, I'm busy." Elesis said. Loud music could be heard in the background.

"Elesis, Raven gave me something I need to sell to pay for his bail. He told me to ask you about it." Ciel said.

"I see, we can't talk about it this way. I'll see you in your room tonight."

The call was cut by Elesis. Ciel stopped in his tracks, unsure of what to do now. He noticed Lu sent a message during the call.

"I'll see you in your room later."

"Well, since I'm having two girls over tonight I might as well tidy up the room…" Ciel thought to himself.

* * *

Eve stepped inside the city mall. There weren't many people shopping at that hour of the day and most of the shops were already closed.

"Moby, Remy, come here." She said.

A blue circle appeared behind her and two small orbs emerged from it. One black and white colored one the other white and black. They flew around her beeping in response for her call.

"Start scanning the area. Target is the NN trace of Elesis Sieghart Elshard device." She said.

Both drones flew high and disappeared from sight. Although the Elshards were made in a way that avoided being tracked, some special devices and Nasods had the ability to track their trace similar to how a dog would follow a scent. It didn't take long for the drones to detect the trace of Elesis. They returned and informed Eve. She followed them until the third floor of the city mall, there they took the back hallway. Although most of the stores were facing the central area, there were small corridors between them that leaded to more hidden places. Liquor stores, suspicious electronic workshops, sex shops and even discos where located in those shadowy spots. There's no doubt the police would lose track of her here. The two drones guided Eve until the door of a place called "Jumping beauties". There were nothing on the exterior showing what was inside. Eve did a quick search on the NN but found nothing about the place, so she entered to see what was going on.

She was shocked. The place was some kind of bar or disco, however there wasn't a dance floor. The place was full of booths surrounded in walls high enough to block sight of what went on in them. The place abused the use of colored lighting; almost any item had a colored light inside it, even the stools. However the place was relatively dark, considering the amount of lights. It was hard to recognize any face. And it was unsettling the fact that the whole place looked kind of deserted excluding the voices that came from the booths. As she was just standing in the entrance, a suited man came over to talk to her.

"Welcome to the Bouncing Beauty my lady; do you want to join us?" The man said.

"I'm looking for Elesis Sieghart." Eve said.

"Oh, I see. Then follow me."

The man guided Eve through the place. It was bigger than expected. He finally stopped by the entrance to one of the booths and gestured for Eve to enter. He also hung something in the entrance that Eve could only glance as an "occupied" sign. She sat there and waited. Moby and Remy wandered around her before finally stopping on top of the small table on the center of the booth. Finally Elesis voice could be heard.

"Welcome to the Bouncing Beauty, what will the lady desire tonight?" She said as she walked in.

Elesis face went pale when she realized her customer was Eve. And Eve realized at that moment why the name of the place. Elesis was wearing a weird bunny costume. A black velvet one-piece costume that only covered from her waist to her shoulders, leaving a generous cleavage and adorned with a white fluffy tail on the back, combined with fishnets and high heels. Despite not having sleeves it still had white sleeve-ends. Topped with a white collar detached from the one-piece with a small black tie. But the most eye catching thing was the diadem adorned with two long black bunny ears she also was wearing.

"What are you doing here!?" Elesis gawped.

"That should be my question! Why are you at a place like this? Do you work here?" Eve replied eyes wide.

Elesis didn't say anything for awhile. Eventually, she sidled closer to Eve, taking the available seat next to her. The man who just greeted Eve arrived at the booth.

"Is everything alright miss?" The man asked.

"Yeah." Eve answered.

Eve waited for the man to leave before she spoke again.

"I can't believe it. This place is so… immoral; why are you here? Answer at once!"

"I work here because they pay good and they don't ask questions. There, you can go home now." Elesis answered standing up to leave.

"NO!" Eve said.

Elesis sighed. This was the reason she never let anyone know about it.

"How did you find me in the first place?"

"The police followed you." Eve answered.

"And why did you come here?"

"I didn't know about this, I just thought you were up to no good again… not something like this."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I came to pick up the form I asked you to fill out yesterday."

"Seriously? You traveled across town just for that? I could have handed it to you the next day."

"I asked you to bring it today." Eve answered.

Since Eve wouldn't give up, Elesis just did for her. She stood to start explaining things to her.

"Alright, just so you know, this is just a bar. I wear this costume to entertain those perverts, but I don't strip, I don't dance and I don't do whatever is crossing your mind now, so you can take your form and leave."

"Even so this place is humiliating; you're being objectified as a piece of meat." Eve said.

"Look, all the things you're thinking right now I've already gone through them in my head. Like I said, they pay and they don't ask questions; that's all I need."

"If you needed money you could just ask. The school has an arrangement with the stores to hire students."

"Yeah of course, but they only pay for your studies and your room, I need cash miss President."

"But why?"

"I don't think I want to tell you."

"I could help you if you tell me." Eve said.

"Oh really? Why would you even help me?" Elesis replied.

"Because I crossed the entire town to pick up a paper so you won't get punished?"

Elesis left herself drop next to her. She threw an arm over Eve's shoulders right as the boss passed by the booth.

"Alright, but now is not a right time… Look, once the Harmony Festival is over I'll tell you everything. But please, could you drop it for now?" Elesis asked.

Eve really wanted to protest again, but since Elesis was looking so worried she decided to let it pass. Even though the amount of things Eve let pass about Elesis just grew a lot taller. She couldn't believe Elesis would be working in such a place.

* * *

Ciel was wearing a mask and a rag over his hair while doing the cleaning when he heard knocking in the door. He removed his cleaning outfit and opened the door. As he was expecting, Lu had just arrived. She was carrying a lot of bags full of props for the play.

"Ciel! We just busted the club budget." Lu said walking in.

"I hope you're joking." Ciel said peeking inside the boxes.

Items ranging from fake swords to breakable plates filled them. Except one that had a black piece of cloth in it.

"Oh, that's the dress I just bought for the night of the festival. Do you want to see it on me?" Lu said taking it from Ciel hands and walking behind the drawer door.

"There's a lot more of clothes here. You haven't bought this with the club budget, did you?" Ciel said, peeking into more boxes.

"Of course not, the club budget isn't enough to buy my fashion." Lu said.

She stepped away for the door and spun around showing her dress. It was a skin-tight black dress that covered over her knees and left the shoulders exposed. It had two suspenders that also hid the bra and the sleeves were open from above, not covering the arm but falling around it.

"How is it?" Lu said.

"You look pretty." He said.

"Pretty? Are you my dad or what? Say that I'm damn hot." Lu said laughing.

"Alright, alright. By the way, I wanted to ask you something." Ciel asked.

Lu peeked out of her improvised changing room and grabbed the bag full of clothes.

"Ask then, I'll show you what else I bought."

"I wanted to know if you were going to tell Lento about… the other day." Ciel asked.

"You mean when we made out?" Lu asked stepping outside again.

This time she was wearing a long brown coat that almost entirely covered her.

"I think you're too short for that coat. And yeah, I was talking about that." Ciel added.

"Do you want me to tell him?" Lu asked going back in again.

"Well, I guess you should. I mean, after all you said back then I thought you two…"

Lu stepped out and this time she was wearing a baggy white shirt with some incomprehensible drawings on it and a pair of black shorts that were almost covered by the shirt. The collar of the shirt was wide enough to let a shoulder be exposed through it, allowing Ciel to see the black strap of her bra.

"You thought we were going to break up? Well, I wasn't thinking on that at that time. But I want to break up with him now. I've been avoiding him, playing the cold act so maybe he try to break up first but there wasn't any success until now."

"That's why you should tell him." Ciel insisted.

"It's not like I want to hurt him or something, Ciel." She said sitting next to Ciel.

"Alright, do as you wish then." Ciel said.

"So, are you going to stand there all day or...?" Lu asked, looking into Ciel's eyes.

Ciel was a bit surprised when Lu climbed to his legs and wraps her arms around his neck, looking at him with a smile on her face. But his surprise went away as he realized Lu was looking for a kiss. Ciel gladly gave Lu the kiss she was longing for. Like the last time, they probed each other lips with their own before letting their tongues do the job. Ciel felt Lu's tiny hands caressing his chest. It sent shivers through him when her fingers ran across his chest hair, beneath his shirt. Since Lu was the first one to make the move, he decided to go along and slid his hand under her shirt too.

The touch of Lu's skin felt amazing, the area around her navel was softer than her hands. It was warm and smooth. Ciel let his hands move freely since Lu didn't protested. However he avoided going for the chest area yet. He surrounded Lu's body and pressed his hands against her back, drawing her closer to him. Lu moved to accommodate herself on top of Ciel, sitting astride over his lap. This caused Ciel to get a bit cautious, since Lu was resting herself on top of such a dangerous area. She actually noticed it and let out a small laugh, pulling away from the kiss.

"Ciel, why are you trying to hide it?" she asked.

Ciel didn't had an answer for that.

"I don't know… I don't want to… startle you?" He said.

Lu laughed again, louder this time.

"Ciel, don't worry about that. I know that you would be like that if we do this kind of thing. Just forget about it so we can enjoy this."

With that said, Lu pressed her lips against Ciel's. They only paused every now and then to breath in. After a while enjoying their kisses Lu pulled back and removed her shirt. Ciel was again surprised.

"Lu, are we…?"

"I don't know where are we going to, but why don't we just go and see where we end up?" She said tossing it on the floor.

Ciel followed Lu's example and also removed his top. Lu smiled as she got close to it. He felt a jolt of pain when her small teeth locked on his nipple before leaving it with a kiss. She smiled and turned a bit to the said, holding her hair in a ponytail giving her back to Ciel. He saw the lock of Lu's bra and guessed she wanted him to remove it.

Even while being able to see it he struggled undoing it. His hands shook and the small lock would flee his hands every time.

"Need some help?" Lu asked.

She reached it with her hand and pressed both sides of it. It opened so easily that Ciel felt a bit embarrassed about it; however he soon forgot about it when Lu faced him again. She was holding her bra against her chest. Ciel grabbed both stripes of it and slowly tugged from them. She finally let it go away and Ciel could see her bare chest. It wasn't big but it had a special kind of charm to it. Ciel reached for it with his hands. It was even softer than the belly's skin. The only part not as smooth would be the pink circles crowning each breast. They were soft at first, but each time his hand would touch them they would became lumpy as goose bumps appeared on them. He dared to reach for then with his lips, greeting them with a kiss and allowing himself to lick them a bit much to Lu's pleasure.

Ciel couldn't help but to look at the clock. It was past midnight, meaning Elesis would arrive any moment now.

"Hey Ciel, what about we prepare something from when we're more in the mood for this?" Lu said as if she had noticed his uneasiness.

"Hey, who said I'm not in the mood? Actually I got so distracted I forgot to tell you that Elesis was going to come over to solve some things with Raven."

Lu laughed.

"And you were going to go ahead with so much in your head?"

Ciel didn't really know what to answer.

"Listen Ciel. It will be our first time so… I'd like for it to be special. Or at least to try to make it special… so you just wait and I'll call you, ok?"

Even if it was a bit disappointing at the moment, Ciel realized that they wouldn't be able to do a thing if Elesis were the arrive in the middle of it so he accepted. Lu started packing up her things and Ciel got his shirt back.

"Oh, also you should try to hide that before Elesis arrives…" Lu said pointing at Ciel pants.

He rushed to get his coat on and closed it. He bid farewell to Lu and she stood on her tiptoes to give a goodbye kiss to him.

* * *

 _ **Sorry, your lewd scene is on the next chapter :D**_


	9. Harmony Festival

**_Was the last chapter lewd enough for you? If your answer is No, then you're lucky, this chapter is even dirtier * - *_**

 ** _Enjoy~~_**

* * *

The Harmony Festival began and school was out for the entire week of festivities. Every day the students would make something for the festival, be it managing a small shop or participate in a big play. Every student except for one. Chung was lying in his room while Elsword was getting ready to leave.

"See? I told you not to get involved with my sister's gang," Elsword said while trying to decide between wearing the school uniform or something more casual.

"Yeah, I guess you were right," Chung replied, lazily moving to change channels on TV.

"Why don't you try to sneak out? The cops may not realize it," Elsword suggested.

"No bro, I already got into trouble once and the president had to cover me. I learned my lesson."

Elsword finally chose the casual style, dressing in a pair of "clean" jeans and a sweater.

"By the way, what's going on between you and your sister? I got the feeling that you two aren't getting along at all," Chung asked.

Elsword sighed, he went over the drawer and sprayed some deodorant on him before sitting back on his bed to answer.

"My sister ran away from home last year. There was a problem in our house; apparently Elesis was going out with someone our parents didn't like. They asked her to end the relationship but since she wouldn't agree, my parents decided to step in," Elsword explained.

"What did they do?" Chung asked.

"They threatened the lover's parents. My father is a very well known mercenary so nobody would dare to defy him. But as a result Elesis was so angry that she left home."

"And your father hasn't done anything to bring her back?"

"Well, when she left home she used her magical fires to burn down father's office, destroying his precious armory stored there. And she even stole mother's jewelry. I guess that she did must have sold it so…" Elsword explained.

"What?! That's messed up."

"Well, my parents didn't want to make something like that public so they decided to let her go and never ever speak of it again. But I wonder why they would even get so angry in the first place. I never met Elesis' lover. Actually, I only learned about all this when I saw father's office burning."

"I see. Maybe I'll ask her once I see her," Chung said, turning his attention back towards the TV.

Elsword shrugged and finally left the room. His task for the day was the photo stall he and some of his classmates would be attending. They'll charge people for being photographed in particular places of the school or doing particular things. The idea was to follow clients around like the paparazzi and give them the 'celebrity' experience. It was just one of the different kind of stalls everyone prepared for the celebration.

The school gates were open for visitors from all over the island. Stalls were arranged at both sides of the main pathway, while bigger activities were stationed in the school's gardens. A big stage for the theatre club play was set up on one side and while another was set up in the other a big athletics field. Lots of decorative flags were hung over the road while posters and advertisements dotted the street lamps and every other corner. In the midst of all the decorations there was one that would appeared more often than the rest: it was a pink poster depicting a group of students. The poster was advertising a rock concert Friday night.

So far the festival was going good. Especially for Lu and Ciel. They walked around the festival area, Lu was really happy that day. Ciel walked a bit behind her stopping at almost every stall.

"Come on Ciel! I want to try the food," Lu would say every time Ciel would stop at a stall.

"It's still too early for that Lu. Wait until the evening," He'd answer.

It was almost lunch break and Lu was feeling so hungry, but for some reason Ciel was more interested in walking around than going directly over to the food stalls. All kind of delicious treats were waiting there for her. She was lucky since that day Lento was called to celebrate the Harmony Festival with his family, so he left the island the day before. Despite Ciel's complaints, Lu decided to act cold towards Lento to see if he would decide to break up. Ciel actually preferred her to be honest and tell the truth, however he didn't insist too much in it since he would be happy one way or another as long as he had Lu with him.

* * *

Chung heard some knocks on the door. He stood and went to open the door to find Aisha.

"Good morning newbie. It's time to work," She said.

Chung sighed and followed her. He was already tired and imagined working until winter break. It would be horrible. In just two days he grew sick of seeing form after form that his head was already mixing things. Aisha guided him to the entrance, where a big banner was lying on the ground waiting to be hung between two street lamps. It had a big picture of the academy and some festival decorations on it.

"Alright Chung, help her hang this while I go supervise the balloon placement," Aisha said leaving in a rush.

Chung looked at his companion and immediately recognized her.

"Oh, mister Chung! Have you volunteered as well?" Ara asked cheerfully.

"Not exactly volunteered but here I am," Chung replied with a chuckle.

Aisha supervised each individual balloon arrangement. It was actually really boring. But what she wanted was to get away from the rest. She secretly sneaked away once everyone else was distracted with something else.

* * *

"Ciel! Come on, the concert is about to start!" Lu shouted.

Ciel had stopped in an exchange stall and was speaking with the one managing it.

"Go ahead and save us some seats," Ciel said as he looked through a display case.

Lu pouted and left stomping the ground. However she turned around and gave Ciel a sly wink before running away. He smiled and got back to his conversation with the student in the stall.

"So, you have something you want to trade for this?"

Ciel showed him the box that contained Raven's stash of weed. The man inspected it for a moment and then nodded. He went to the back of the stall and returned with a different box. Ciel opened it to find it filled with money.

"Tell Elesis that I received the thing," the man said.

Ciel said goodbye and quickly left the stall. He had to leave the money in his room before joining Lu again. It was already dusk once he returned to the big open field where the concert was held. He quickly spotted Lu in the only place that had some trees. She was easy to spot since she was sat on one of the tree's lower branches. She waved at him and nearly lost balance if it weren't for Ciel's help.

"You sure took your time," Lu grumbled.

"Sorry, I wanted to leave something in my room," Ciel replied.

"Whatever. I want you to go pick up some snacks as compensation," Lu asked.

"You're still hungry?!"

Ciel roamed the area near the field. A lot of food stalls were stationed there to take advantage of the concert's popularity. There were a lot to choose from: hot dogs, hamburgers, cotton candy, fried potatoes, and Alteran Crystals… He purchased the crystals.

Unlike the name implies, the crystals were actually a special kind of jelly filled rock candy. He returned with a handful of them. Lu eyes opened wide when she saw then, and quickly rushed through the bag searching for the white ones. They were cream flavored, and were the sweeter ones. Ciel however preferred the yellow ones, which had a strong sour taste like lemon. Lu bit her crystal making the jelly to spill out of it in her mouth while Ciel enjoyed slowly licking it.

It was night already. The field became really crowded as the concert was about to start. The lights on the street started to fade away, until only the ones on the stage were still on. The crowd mumbled in excitement as the curtains on the stage began to rise.

Suddenly a deafening electric guitar chord shocked everyone in the field. From behind the curtains a five silhouettes emerged. They didn't look like the ones in the promotional posters. They were dressed completely black. Black leather jackets adorned with metal spikes on the shoulders and around the sleeves. They all wore big black boots, also adorned with spikes and something that looked like bones. Black skirt and tights covered their slim legs. They were a group of five girls, probably of the same age of the students in front of them and each wore a black carnival mask with silver flower-like framing or their faces were shrouded by a hood.

The guitarist stepped forward and began her solo. Unlike the others she was wearing a longer coat, enough for it to touch the ground and she had a pair of black feathered wings on her back that even moved. The loud sound of her guitar marked the start of the song. The one in the center grabbed the mic.

"Are you ready for this?" She yelled with a low, guttural voice.

She started singing while the rest of the band started to play. The lead singer shouted the lyrics for everyone in the field, while the guitarist's fingers bounded over the strings.

They weren't the group scheduled to play that night, yet nobody was interested in leaving the field. The loud and deafening metal enticed everyone there. They started cheering and jumping along the music.

"Those girls are incredible!" Lu said, jumping down the tree's branch and starting to cheer for them.

The singer stepped back, letting the guitarist start her incredible solo. Her hands moved so fast up and down the guitar's neck, creating beautiful scales, riffs and rhythms. Everyone got excited, jumping in place along with the music.

Ciel was enjoying the music when he felt something tugging from his leg. He looked down and saw Rena waving at him. He jumped down the tree branch to speak with her.

"I hope you got the thing right," Rena spoke through the solo.

"Yeah, tomorrow I'll go to the police and hand them the cash. I guess Raven would be free soon after," Ciel answered.

"Good. No wonder he chose you as his insurance," Rena replied.

"Actually, I wonder why he hadn't asked you this instead."

"I guess he doesn't really trust me." Rena answered turning her attention to the concert.

"What? How could he not trust his girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend? What?" Rena laughed, looking back at Ciel, "Did he say something like that?"

"Well, no I just assumed it, since you two spend a lot of time alone and all of that…"

"Oh Ciel… Raven and I are just partners. Where did you think he gets the greens you enjoy so much?" Rena asked.

Rena winked at him then left. It made sense, after all elves were well known for their skills at herbalism. And there was this rumor about some elves that decided to use their skills for cultivating drugs and narcotics. After all they were mostly unaffected by that kind of substances. Ciel was just thinking about this when he felt a shoe prodding his nape.

"Ciel, what's up?"

It was Lu who was still up the tree. He climbed back up and sat next to her.

The song the unknown band was playing finally ended. The crowd was asking for more when Chung, Ara and some of the student council members arrived at the field.

"I figured this racket wasn't from the scheduled band," One of them said.

"Who are these guys? I don't even know them," Another said.

"We'll go fetch the president. Newbies: get them off the stage," The first one said before leaving.

Chung felt as if these guys just shirked it on purpose. He wondered what he should do.

"Why don't we just ask them to stop?" Ara asked.

Chung looked at her innocent face and couldn't bring himself to say that was a bad idea. Just looking at the girls on the stage was enough for him to know that they weren't the "friendly" type.

"Well, we have to do something," Another one of the volunteer's urged.

"We'll cut out the power. Follow me," Chung said.

Thanks to his involvement with festival preparations, he knew the exact wiring that powered the stage. It had a distribution panel with an emergency shutoff switch at the back. After making his way behind the stage he saw that the new band had plugged their instruments there. He went to the panel and pulled the big lever, cutting the electric flow. The stage and everything nearby went dark. The music stopped and everyone on the field stopped with it as confusion filled the air.

"Alright, now we catch them before they have a chance to run," Chung said.

However his team of novices and volunteers didn't look too committed to catching a group of scary looking musicians.

"Well, I guess I have to do all the work, huh?" He sighed.

"Wait, I'll go with you," Ara said.

Thanking her for the help, they ran to the stage just to find the band was taking advantage of the dark to run away. Ara tried to block their escape, but they were incredibly agile. The singer moved so fast it even looked like he just teleported behind her, while the guitarist easily jumped over her, even while being burdened with the guitar case. Chung sprinted and reached for her, managing to grab the wings on her back, pulling them off and revealing they were fake.

Ara also ran after them. She was so fast that it surprised Chung. She was hot on their trail, but the guitarist saw her and quickly removed her coat and threw it at Ara. For some reason Chung couldn't understand, Ara tried to keep on running with the coat blocking her vision, ended up crashing with a lamp, obviously.

"Ara! Are you alright? Why didn't you stop?" Chung asked checking on her.

"Yeah, I'm good; the coat softened the crash…" She groaned.

The fugitives got away, so Chung went back to the stage, where everyone else was waiting.

After explaining the situation, the other members arrived.

"We can't find the president nor the vice-pres…" One of them said.

"We couldn't find the scheduled band either."

"Guys, how are we going to explain this to the president?"

"Explain what to me?"

Everyone turned to see Eve there. She was wearing some casual clothing that nobody would expect her to even have.

"I was resting peacefully in the dorms with Aisha when this noise disturbed me, so I came to check. What's going on?" Eve asked.

Everyone was afraid of was the first to speak.

"An unknown band snuck onto the stage and played instead of the scheduled one. We tried catching them but we couldn't. However we have some of their belongings," Chung said handling her the coat and wings.

"I'll take care of them. Alright, since the real band hasn't appeared, I guess we can assume that they didn't even exist. Probably we just got tricked again," Eve said.

"Again?" Ara asked.

"Those girls on the stage always find a way to play during school events. They never get permission to do act during the events due to their… "exotic" appearance, but they would always snuck into the shows," One of the older members explained.

"They even had some fans between the students. They probably even assisted staging this little show of theirs," Eve explained.

The mumbling on the crow was starting to turn into protest. Eve took the stage followed by the other members. Chung remained there without knowing what to do.

Ciel and Lu jumped down the tree. They saw Eve on the stage giving out an explanation, but apparently the concert just got canceled. She didn't say anything about the band being chased off though.

"Oh… what a pity… why don't we go somewhere else?" Lu said.

Ciel agreed and the two of them left the field. They were unsure of where to go however.

"Why don't we head home? We have to do our play tomorrow morning after all." Ciel suggested.

"Don't be like that Ciel. I want to enjoy our first harmony festival together to its fullest!" Lu said clenching her fists and looking around for some ideas.

The night grew later; they walked around between the stalls, stopping only to see what kind of things they were selling or what games they would offer. People started leaving, only the ones waiting for the "second party" remained. It was then when they spotted Elesis. She was walking alone, and her face looked very tired. They waved at her to call her attention.

"Elesis! How weird to see you past your leave hour," Lu exclaimed, cheerfully throwing herself on her.

"Yeah, I finished what I had to do so I wanted to take a look around since I won't be able to come any other day," She said, removing Lu's grip from her shoulders.

"Aw… That's not good. Why don't you hang out with us then?" Lu suggested.

"Thanks but I'm sorry I've already made an appointment for today."

And with that she excused herself and left. Lu was a bit down about it but Ciel quickly solved it by suggesting they grab more sweets.

"Ok, let's go home." Ciel said after cheering her up.

"Nooo! The after party is about to start," Lu protested.

"I'm not sure I want to take part in that…"

The after party was what the students called the celebration that consisted in buying large amounts of alcohol and consuming it in the fields.

"I don't want to head home just yet, so if you don't want to come then I'll go by myself," Lu pouted.

"Alright, alright… Why don't we take a stroll instead?"

"I'm already tired of aimlessly walking around…"

"You idiot! I was talking about going to someplace quieter."

"Oh! Oh, sorry. Yeah, you lead the way."

* * *

Not far from there, Elesis had just caught up with Eve. She was helping the council pick up after the mess with the unannounced band.

"Hi Miss President."

Eve looked at her and nodded in response. Elesis walked over her and placed a contact card on her hand.

"That's my number, call me once this festival is over and I'll explain what you want to know."

* * *

"Have you calmed down?" Ciel asked.

Ciel and Lu were walking on the street between the dorms. Every store was already closed, and the street was only barely illuminated by the lamps. A big orange glow in the distance showing the party still going on and the constant rumbling of music from there could still be felt.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. It's late and there's the play tomorrow." Lu answered, changing her direction to the girl's dorm.

Not a single student was in sight. The ones that weren't partying were outside the dorms, traveling back to their homes for the vacation. The doors of the girl's dorms had their lights out giving the whole place an eerie feel.

"It's ok, you just wanted to enjoy the party, but there's still plenty of days for that, no need to tire ourselves out so fast" Ciel explained.

"Well, there was actually another reason I was avoiding heading home…" Lu said.

"And what could that be?" Ciel asked.

Lu seemed nervous for a moment. She pushed the doors of the dorms open and holds them gesturing Ciel to enter.

"Would you accompany me to the room?" Lu said, suddenly blushing.

"Sure" Ciel said.

They walked in awkward silence. The dorms were completely empty. If they didn't know about the people leaving for the festival they would believe a disaster had occurred. They reached Lu's room without encountering any other student. Ciel stood there waiting for Lu to enter. She unlocked the door and took a few steps in, but then looked back.

"Well, are you going to enter or…?" She asked.

Ciel finally realized something. Lu being so nervous about heading home and her sudden way of behaving. He stepped inside. Where they going to do it? Or was it just Ciel's imagination? Probably Lu only wanted him to sleep there, too. But since the other day there was some kind of tension, more like anticipation; over everything Ciel and Lu usually do. He closed the door behind him and looked at Lu who was giving her back to him. He was feeling anxious now. He wanted to say anything, he could even try to ask it directly, but Lu was the one who spoke.

"Since the other day I was really worried," She began, "Well, not actually worried, more like annoyed."

Ciel raised an eyebrow not sure what she was talking about.

"All this time I've been thinking about how to make it different or special but I don't know. I never did it so how would I even know? And you know what? I got tired of worrying about it so now I would be ok with just letting it happen. It's supposed to be something you enjoy right? Then I guess I'm correct."

Lu stopped her rambling and looked back at Ciel. He didn't know if she was waiting for an answer or something. She suddenly started laughing.

"What am I even saying? This is no way to set up the mood… Ciel, get comfortable, I'm going to refresh a bit."

She said as she left the room, she trailed a finger over Ciel chest and shoulders while she was leaving.

Ciel finally understood what was going on. He was so sure Lu would prepare something big that the idea of doing it became something far. But here he was.

"What should I do now?" He thought to himself, "Do I wait for her on the bed? Should I strip myself…? Probably is better if we strip later I guess. But at least the coat… and the shoes."

Ciel removed both coat and shoes and laid on Lu's bed. But when he looked at his own feet suddenly the shocks he was wearing looked really horrible. He took them off too and lamented he hadn't his nails cut before. He checked them, fearing he'd find dirt under them or something. He did them the same with the ones on his hands.

After checking his nails, he felt nervous about something else. He raised his arm to check if he smelled bad. Surely all the activity through the party made him sweat, but he wasn't sure if it was noticeable or not. He then spotted a bottle of perfume on Lu's desk. It would be weird if he was to use it, but maybe spraying a bit over the room would hide the smell.

Ciel got back to the bed, he still felt nervous. He was sure it wasn't because of how he looked. He was actually afraid. He always thought that would be easy, but it turns out that it's frightening, and the rant Lu let out just before was probably due to the same. But he didn't know anything either, he hadn't asked about it because… well he was a guy. Guys never ask about that kind of thing, or do they? He didn't know. More importantly, how should he do things now? He had heard the first time is painful. What if he hurts Lu? No, he would never do that… but what if he does something stupid or ridiculous and then Lu doesn't want to be with him again? That also seemed improbable. He was so anxious right now, his heart was pounding very hard and it almost jumped out of his chest when his Elshard rang, surprising him.

"This is Ciel."

"Ciel! Dude, how is it going?"

It was one of Ciel friends, from the sound of it he was really drunk. It looked like he only called to speak for a bit.

"Why aren't you here? We miss you. This party is crazy. Lots of people, and lots of cute girls if you know what I mean." Laughing was heard on the other side.

"Heh, if I told you…" Ciel said.

They chatted for awhile about mostly stupid things until Ciel heard the door opening behind him and Lu entered the room.

"Hey sorry dude but I have to hang up," Ciel said.

He put the Elshard in mute mode before placing it over his coat on the floor. Lu had changed her clothes to a white nightie with little black dots and her hair was a bit wet, falling straight over her shoulders. She sat on the bed next to Ciel.

"I thought this would be more comfortable for this… Do I smell perfume?" Lu asked.

"Yeah… I thought it would give the room a more romantic feeling…" Ciel lied.

Lu smiled. Silence. They were awkwardly looking at each other. Neither of them very interested in making the first move. Ciel looked at her again from tip to toe. She looked so gorgeous. The thin nightgown she was wearing barely covered her waist, allowing him to see her black underwear right beneath it. He looked up, following the skin visible through the semitransparent fabric until he reached her eyes. Her two beautiful blue eyes were staring intently at his. He took a deep breath and leaned forward her, embracing her with a warm hug.

It was nothing they hadn't done before yet their hearts were racing so fast. Ciel even thought Lu could hear it. But them they kissed, at first he could feel the choked breath of Lu, obviously since her heart was as excited as his, but them that gripping feeling banished. It got swept away by the soft, fluffy and warmth sensation of their kiss. When they closed their eyes all of the previous nervousness started to fade, becoming nothing but a faint sensation.

Ciel felt as if his body just awoke from a numb slumber, and only then he realized that Lu's hands were gently caressing his chest. He moved his own arms to draw her closer tightening the embrace. Their lips separated. Lu opened her eyes; her eyes looked like she has just awoke from a long dream as well.

She started unbuttoning Ciel's t-shirt, tracing a finger along his torso as the cloth was taken off. Once removed she ran her hand through his hairy chest. She moved to his neck and kissed it, giving a soft twitch with her lips every now and then. Her hair touching his neck made him ticklish. She broke away from him and with one finger and slid one of the nightgown's suspenders, letting it fall and unveiling her shoulder. Ciel took the initiative and also removed the remaining one. The cloth slid down to her chest leaving her breasts exposed as she wasn't wearing a bra beneath. Ciel caressed it with his hands, feeling the soft nipples under his fingers. Lu let her head drop back and Ciel held her back moving his face and kissing her. Carefully he placed a kiss in her neck, then another one over her clavicle; followed by another two leading down.

Lu gasped as each kiss was getting closer to her sensitive chest. Ciel stopped playing around with his kisses and grabbed the nightgown to slid it up and get it out of the way. Feeling barely naked Lu crossed her arms in a self-reflex. However she decided to retrieve the initiative, pushing Ciel down and crawling over him. Straddling on top of him felt satisfactory for her, especially while she looked at his nervous face. She sat astride and let her weight rest over his waist as she leaned forward to kiss him, however when he moved up to kiss her she quickly pulled out, giggling. She teased him again this way until he threw his arms over her to keep her from running away. But he quickly pulled away when he felt a sharp pain on his lips. He realized that Lu just bit him, and then she went in again, kissing him first and then bit his lower lip playfully.

"You're being such a tease…" Ciel protested.

Lu rose again with a smile, she ran her tongue over her lips and let her hands go under Ciel's navel. She carefully unbuttoned his pants and moved aside to take them off with Ciel's help. Once they were out of the way she assumed her dominant position again, tracing with a finger Ciel's briefs. He felt a shiver run through his whole body the moment Lu kissed his chest again and started heading down feeling the anticipation for the pleasure about to come. She leaned on him once more, pressing her lips against his briefs. He got up a bit leaning on his elbows to see what she was doing better. He saw her mischievous smile as she slid her fingers between the elastic top of his briefs and stripping them off. Ciel felt really embarrassed when he saw his last piece of cloth being taken away yet he didn't try to hid his body. Lu stared back at him, without the restraint of the underpants his manhood rose up freely, she slowly ran a finger from its bottom to the tip. She did it as carefully as if any kind of disturbance would shatter it.

After getting more confident with it, she carefully wrapped it between her hands. Even if they were so warm, to Ciel they felt really cold, but oddly enough; the cool sensation was pleasant. Lu moved her hands and reached for it, giving it a soft kiss on its tip. She moved them with her attention absorbed by the weird feeling of the hot and wrinkled skin on it. Lu looked into Ciel eyes, she wanted to know if Ciel was ok with her doing, but she found Ciel was as doubtful as her. She looked back to it and decided to play with it a bit more. She gave another kiss and licked its side; every interaction would make a different reaction from Ciel. It was beginning to become entertaining trying to find out what faces Ciel would do with her moves.

She opened her mouth and wrapped her tongue around its tip. Ciel let out a gasp when her tongue circled around his sensitive spot. She moved down letting it inside her mouth a bit more. There wasn't room now to move her tongue. It was a weird sensation, both the smell and the taste were something Lu never felt before, she hadn't words to describe it, and it wasn't like she was going to do so right now. She helped herself with her hand to move it further in, earning a moan from Ciel. He reached for her head and pet her hair, she looked up and stared back at Ciel's eyes as she swallowed the entire thing, shortly after she pulled away disengaging and taking a long breath.

"Did I do it right?" She asked.

"Hell yes…" Ciel answered lying back again.

"Why don't you take your turn now them?" Lu asked.

She crawled over him, letting her body caress Ciel, until reaching his face, trapping his pole between her legs. He kissed her and rolled over, placing Lu under him and kneeled next to her. She has the chance to see his full body for once. It was the first time she noticed how mighty Ciel's arms looked. Not only his arms, but his whole body was really toned, giving his overall thin figure a powerful look. The contrast between his overly groomed face and his unshaved chest, or the way his flexed legs boasted strong muscles enticed Lu as much as his nice and hard ass. Lu couldn't help but slap it when he was looking away, earning a confused look from Ciel that made her burst in laughter.

Ciel shook his head and ignored it. He was more interested in finding out how to satisfy her. He went for her tiny feet first, lifting it with his hand and giving it a soft kiss. He looked back at her face to find a mildly red color spreading through her cheeks. He continued by caressing them and kissing the inner thighs, drawing dangerously near her waist, where her hands laid shyly blocking his way.

He looked at her seductively; she looked aside and removed her hands, exposing her black underwear. Ciel felt the soft fabric with his hands, moving his fingers in circles searching for her weak spots. He took his time before finally daring to remove it. The thin piece of cloth was easily stripped off and Lu was finally as exposed as him. It was relieving in some way, but Ciel was taken aback when he realized he didn't know how to continue after that. Maybe imitating Lu was the best option. He used his finger to trace her soft skin, moving her under lips aside, revealing the pink skin below.

He noticed how Lu would react each time his finger would reach the top, where a small round dot was. He tried prodding it. Lu reacted by moving her legs aside as if she were asking for more. He gave it a kiss this time, trapping it between his lips and pulling a bit from it before releasing it. The way Lu changed her breathing told him this was going well. So this time he tested mixing both kisses and caresses. He ran his finger across the pink gap as his tongue played around with the tiny ball.

Lu moaned now and then, she had her hand grab Ciel's head to prevent him from pulling away, not wanting this new pleasure to end early. He noticed how his fingers started to get soaked on a sticky fluid. He instinctively gave his finger a lick, it tasted weird. He switched places dedicating his tongue to lick her soft skin and his finger to tease the weaker spot. It took some time until the sticky liquid soaked the entire place.

He guessed she was ready for it. Ciel moved over her, sitting in his knees letting his manly mast rest on top of her sensitive opening. He leaned forward, leveling his head with her face. They stared at each other's eyes. He wanted to ask if she was ok with it, but the impatient look she was making was enough of an answer. He moved a bit back and forth, rubbing himself on her, like if he was testing the waters; and she responded with some moans while raising her hips up, pressing against him. When he finally made his mind he approached her slowly, searching for the right place to press on. She helped him a bit with her hands. A moan came out of her mouth when he finally touched the right spot. Ciel moved his hips forward, prodding her with it. It wasn't as easy as he thought before. He watched in frustration how his thing slid out of place.

"Ciel, is not like I'm going to break… so you can be a little more forceful." She said as she caressed his chin.

Encouraged with her words, Ciel lined up another shot. This time he leaned forward to adjust the angle. The soft touch of her skin was already making him feel tingly. Another push and he finally felt her ring around him. She let out a gasp as well and watched his next move. Only the tip went in, now Ciel moved very cautiously, pushing himself further in little by little, making Lu's breathing grow heavy as he dove deeper inside. The feeling was incredibly hot. Warm soft skin clamped around him as it went in. He could feel Lu's every move now. After going in a long way he reached a hard part. Lu bit her lip as she also felt it drawing near. They both knew it would be painful, but she was imploring him to move on with her eyes, and Ciel wasn't going to stop now. A final push, Lu closed her eyes and clenched her teeth.

As fast as it came it went away, the pain become numb and now what was left was the hot feeling threatening their bodies to melt together. They laid there for a moment, enjoying the feeling of being connected in such an intimate way.

Lu wrapped her legs around Ciel waist, trapping him with them. She was the first to move, pushing her hips against him and letting them fall again. The sensation was a jolt of pleasure every time they would collide. Ciel moved his body accordingly, easily following her pace. They kept their bodies together, skin to skin; only breaking away to make room for their pleasant motion. The cute moans Lu had and the not-so-manly ones from Ciel merged into a song of pleasure. Such song increased its pace when they moved faster. The initial fear was totally gone; it got overridden by ecstasy. They weren't thinking of anything else now that it wasn't the feeling of their bodies crashing, searching for that growing sensation that numbed every other sense. The moans quickly turned into cries and yells. The movement became fuzzier. The masterful composition of pleasure reached its climax. The white fluid that marked the end of the song was spilled and it was now glowing over Lu's skin.

Both of them fell, exhausted; on the bed. They were recovering their breath, looking at each other with an accomplishment look in their eyes.

"Was it good?" Ciel asked.

"It wasn't half bad." Lu answered, and then laughed.

Both of them laughed. They cuddled together and shared kisses until they fell asleep.

* * *

The public stood, clapping vigorously. The theatre club has finished their play and all participating members gathered at the center of the stage to bow before their expectators. A big ovation came in filled with whistling and applause. The curtains closed and everyone finally relaxed. Lu congratulated everyone on their hard work.

"I'm glad everything went well, they were all so nervous about this…" Lu said.

"Well, we already know how that is, right?" Ciel answered with a mischievous look.

Lu punched him in the shoulder.


	10. True Colors

_**How is it going? Are you enjoying the fic? Love it? Hate it? Let me know :3**_

* * *

Elesis stood on the sidewalk, subtly eyeing the building on the other side of the road. The big warehouse where they had the fight with Technical high was mostly unaltered since then. The only changes were the police cords on the entrance. There was a single police officer in front of the wall's gates, leaning against his car. Elesis guessed due to the lack of extra police units they must have already finished their investigation.

Static on the radio caught both the policeman and Elesis' attention and after a brief exchange between the officer and the radio, he quickly jumped in his car and drove off.

It was her chance to get in. Once the police car was out of view she sprinted across the road. She wasn't wearing her usual white coat, this time she chose a completely black outfit with leather pants and jacket and a red muffler to shield her face from the cold. That morning was so chilly that the road had thin sheets of ice on top. Once near the walls, she made a leapt upward, reaching for the top of the wall. She quickly kicked her steel toe boots onto the hard surface with enough strength to create a small crack as a stepping stone.

Pulling herself upwards she finally jumped over the wall and landed on the other side.

No one else was over there. The boxes filled with pirated DVDs were also gone. The same police tape that were on the gate were on the doors of the warehouse. She took a look around, searching for some evidence. She didn't really know what she was looking for. After not finding anything useful outside, Elesis tried the door. It was locked, the door itself looked fragile enough to open it with a kick, but she decided against it to avoid drawing police attention. Knowing that the warehouse was abandoned for a long time, she checked around the place looking for broken windows or other forms of entry. There was a cargo bay where trucks used to unload goods and it looked like it was stuck open.

The opening was really small but she managed to squeeze through with barely any room left to give.

The interior of the warehouse was completely empty; not a single box or high-rising storage shelf in sight. Without any hope, she checked the rooms that once housed the building's offices. Their doors weren't locked, and like the rest of the place they were empty. No chairs, tables, file cabinets… it was completely cleaned out. She checked for marks or dents on the ground indicating recent movement of heavy items, but found none. Was it the police that took everything out?

No. The police normally avoided moving anything in a crime scene; maybe the ones that swapped the contents on the boxes were the ones doing it. After looking in every small room she finally found the former bathroom. Like every other place it was empty. Even the toilets were gone, leaving nothing more than the pipes they used to be attached to. She almost gave up when she saw something suspicious. The other rooms even had the lightbulbs, switches and plugs removed. Why would they leave the pipes?

She came closer to the nearest one and carefully looked inside it. It was so dark she couldn't even see anything inside. However it gave a really awful smell, as expected from a toilet's pipe. Resisting her nausea, she moved to the next one. One by one she checked all of them, finding nothing more than the horrible smell that wafted in the air, until she finally noticed something different in the one that was most near the wall. It was the only one that didn't let out the putrid smell.

Which could only mean something was obstructing it. Luckily she came prepared. From inside her jacket she took out a pair of long pincers that she used to dig into the the pipe. After a bit of poking and prodding in the dark, she felt something hard and pulled it. A small cylindrical container, almost as wide as the pipe, slid out onto the tiling. One of its ends had a screwcap and the curious object looked fairly clean for something that came out of a toilet. Elesis unscrewed it carefully not to spill anything that it could be holding inside. What she found was a rolled paper with a familiar drawing on it: A black horse.

"This again?" She thought to herself.

A noise echoed through the empty warehouse and she darted to the bathroom door and peeked out to the warehouse's main floor. Two officers were wandering through. She quietly closed the door and waited as the two policemen chatted among themselves.

"So we're leaving this place today?" One of them said.

"Yeah, it's totally barren; the guys at forensics are saying that some expert cleaned up the place. No fingerprints, no evidence, not even a single drop of sweat was here when we cordoned the place off," The other explained.

"Didn't they search the pipes?" Elesis thought to herself.

"Wait, I'm going to take a piss." One of them said.

Elesis stepped away from the door. There wasn't anywhere to hide so she tried to hold the door knob closed.

"Hey! There aren't any toilets in there, they even took them. Just hold it a bit and go to that cafeteria and get ourselves some good donuts."

She heard a laugh near the door as well as footsteps growing further away. Once nothing else could be heard, she came out the bathroom and verified she was alone again. Without wasting another second, she slid again under the open bay door and jumped the wall. Her head filled with questions, trying to connect the points. The same drawing Chung found in the Technical high was hidden there. Then there must be a connection between Bantus gang and the stolen Elum. But what could it be? The Elum was seized by the police anyway.

"Did the police only find part of the cargo?"

She shook her head. It was time to find answers.

* * *

"The fireworks show yesterday marked the end of the Harmony Festival, and with that we announce the start of winter. We remind everyone on the island to be aware of the extremely cold temperatures that are to come…"

The TV was airing the weather report on the student council room. Only Eve and Aisha were there at that time. Now that the festival was over there wasn't anything to do. Aisha usually referred to that as the council's harmony festival. There was a knock on the door and as expected their newest addition to the team walked in right on schedule.

"Are you still wearing that, rookie?" Aisha asked, pointing at the summer uniform.

Unlike him, Eve and Aisha already switched to their winter uniform. The difference between the summer uniform and winter one was that the latter included a long coat that covered till the knees, a pair of gloves, a wool cap, a scarf and a ski mask that covered up to the nose. Everything had the school's symbol on it and was colored with the usual black and deep blue tones.

"It's not that cold." He said.

"Chung, didn't you see the weather reports?" Aisha asked, shaking her head, "Winter in Hamel is cold, but remember that we are on an island many kilometers above ground. Here, the temperature drops really fast during winter due to the changing air streams."

Aisha turned up the volume of the TV.

"The meteorological institute of Altera had informed us of the predictions for today. We expect a cool 15 Cº that will last until the evening. However the temperature will go down, reaching minus 20 Cº by midnight. We strongly advise locals not to stay outside during those hours."

"Minus 20?!" Chung exclaimed.

"And it will be like that for the whole week." Aisha confirmed.

"I recommend you leave to get your winter outfit. There's no work to do today anyway." Eve said.

Chung left the room in a hurry.

"That reminds me: the principal said that he wanted to save on heating costs this year so he asked us to create a schedule and some rules for the students to follow so we only need to heat the used parts of the school when they are being used." Aisha said.

"There's money more than enough for heating costs, why he asked such a thing?" Eve asked.

"He said something about the heating system and fuel used being really pollutant and the central government asking public institutions to avoid wasting it…" Aisha added.

The bell rang, marking the end of their break. All students lazily walked back into class. Almost everyone was wearing the winter uniform now. All the stalls from the festival were already removed and the place was totally cleaned. Chung came back to the council room, now wearing the proper outfit.

"In the end what happened with that mysterious metal band?" He asked.

"They disappeared after their show was interrupted. Don't fret about it; it's impossible to catch those guys." Aisha said.

"I see. But why they weren't allowed to play? I mean, they…" Chung started to say but stopped upon seeing Eve coming closer, fearing to be told off.

"Their music is good. They're good at it. That's what you were going to say right?" She asked.

Chung slowly nodded.

"I agree. But they aren't interested in following the school rules. Their show, as good as it might be, obstructed the other scheduled band. That's why we had to chase them off," She explained.

"But it doesn't make sense, if they're good musicians they can ask for permission." Chung said.

"They're not only good, they also had fans. But their fans follow them not only for the music, but for what they represent. They are a symbol of rebellion, of freedom. They may be afraid of losing that image and those fans by submitting to the rules." Eve said.

Chung sighed. He couldn't understand that kind of logic. He left the council room heading to his classroom when he spotted a familiar figure.

"Raven!" He said.

"Hey, kid," Raven answered.

"They finally let you out. I'm glad you're okay."

"Well, I had to pay a lot for it but, yes, I'm fine."

* * *

Lu was playing her favorite game on her portable console, again. Lento sat next to her. They were outside the gym, waiting for the rest of club members to assemble. While Lu was wearing a big fluffy coat, Lento was in his light kendo outfit, doing his best not to tremble due to the growing cold.

"So… did you have fun in the Harfest?" Lento asked.

Lu just remembered the night she spent with Ciel. Her cheeks quickly became red as she answered.

"Yeah…"

Silence fell upon them again. Lu was going to tell Lento the truth. She wasn't going to actually tell him everything, only that she wants to break up. However she felt a bit bad about it. Thinking about it she just cheated on him while he was away with his family. And to top it off, the reason she wanted to break up was that Lento was being so stubborn about having sex while she already had it with Ciel. However she couldn't bring herself to forget Ciel, and in comparison, Lento was a lot more disposable.

"My teammates are awfully late today. I wonder if they just want to skip because of the cold."

Lu didn't bother answering. She was thinking that if she acts awful with him he might start up a discussion. However, instead of being bothered by it, Lento grabbed Lu's hands and drew her closer.

"Why don't we warm up a bit in the meantime?" He asked.

Lu quickly turned her eyes away.

"You're interrupting my game!" She protested, pulling her hands away and getting back to her game.

Lento let out a sigh. Silence again. After a while he tried again getting close to her by subtly placing his arm on her shoulders.

"You're too cold. Get it off!" Lu protested again.

"That's why I was saying we could warm up a little bit."

"Why don't you start practicing if you want to warm up?"

"Oh, come on. You know what I mean. Look, baby, I really missed you this whole week, and I'm sure you did too, so why don't we just indulge ourselves into what we really want?"

There he goes again. Lu stood up and faced him.

"Do you want to know what I really want? I want you to stop trying to force your perverted intentions on me!" She shouted.

"What? I'm not a pervert. We are going out, it's normal that we want to do it right? You're the one that's acting weird about it."

"Acting weird? Since you first asked me to do it you hadn't even mentioned anything else. You spent all our time together trying to persuade me into it. While if you just cared for a second and heard me out you could already been satisfied."

"What do you mean? I supposed you didn't wanted to do it because you were scared."

"It wasn't that. I was feeling like you didn't care about anything else about me. That's why I didn't wanted to do it. And you haven't even changed. Did you really miss me while you were away? When? While you were alone in your bedroom playing with yourself?"

Lu question brought a pained look onto Lento's eyes. He stood up to face Lu too.

"No! I really wanted to be with you." He said.

"Oh, really? Did you know that one of your teammates just messaged me a while ago saying that you cancelled today training?" Lu answered with a smug face.

"Well… that was because I wanted to have some time just the two of us…"

"Lento. That's enough. All that you care about is getting under my skirt. I'm tired of it, you know? I can't possibly go out with someone who only wants sex from me. I wanted to speak about this earlier with you, but since you keep on pushing me with that I just gave up."

"Are you really breaking up with me? Just because you don't want to have sex?" Lento asked.

"You still don't get it right? I'm breaking up with you, yes. But I'm breaking up with you because you're an idiot. And, for your information; I already had it. I had it while you were away. And I enjoyed it so much that I want to do it again as soon as possible. And you know what? That person didn't even ask me to do it. We did it because we wanted. Isn't that wonderful?"

After saying that, Lu left without looking back. She didn't wanted to hurt Lento, but in doing so she would avoid him pursuing after her.

"You're lying!" Lento shouted.

She just kept on walking faster and faster until she was running. There was a tear on her cheek when she stopped by the door she knocked on.

Ciel opened it to be assaulted by Lu. She was wearing a wide smile while knocking down Ciel with her hug.

"I did it! I finally get rid of him!" Lu said, letting out a relieved sigh.

"Are you crying?" He asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm so happy. We can be together now, Ciel." She said.

"I kind of feel bad for him… but I'm happy too."

* * *

"Answer me!"

Elesis was shouting with her fists up at a man that tried to hide under his table. She was in a retro-themed office. Almost everything was brown colored. A big desk on the center with an armchair next to it were on the center on top of a wide red carpet. Bookshelves on one side and a small table with an old gramophone on the other.

"Elesis, please, I don't know what you're talking about."

The man hiding under the desk was a young adult dressed in a black suit. He also had a groomed moustache and an odd haircut that reminded her of a long dead rock star. Aside from the two of them, some members of Elesis' gang and two other suited men were in the office.

"You were the one that told me about the Elum. Is this all a setup?"

The man barely managed to stay out of Elesis' reach.

"I told you I don't. I also wanted you to get the Elum, I remind you I was the one buying it."

"Shut the fuck up!" Elesis yelled, jumping over the desk and grabbed the man.

His two bodyguards tried to stop her but her own comrades managed to pin them down. With her target in hand, Elesis pushed him against the window. It opened under the man's weight and half his body was left to hang outside. The only thing keeping him from falling off the 7º floor was Elesis's grip on his suit collar.

"Does being like this remind you of something? Tell me, what are those black horses I keep on seeing."

"Elesis! You're going to kill me, pull me in!" He protested terrified.

Elesis shook him a bit, earning a strident scream from him.

"Speak or you will become nothing but a splat on the ground." She threatened.

"You crazy bitch! Alright, I'll tell you what I know. But put me back in, for god's sake!"

She pulled the scared man back in and dropped him on the ground. He recomposed himself while trying to speak.

"After I told you about the Elum I heard that other gangs were after it. A lot of them."

"I thought you told me this Elum cargo was a secret."

"Yeah, it was. That's why I thought it was all lies. But since you're here trying to throw me out of the window I guess I was wrong." He explained.

"And what can you tell me about the horse?"

"I don't know anything about it, I swear!" The man answered, covering his head.

"You retarded bastard, you should have told me if you knew someone else was after the Elum. Not only do we not have the Elum, who knows what else is after us, now." Elesis yelled.

The man dropped his head in apology.

"Next time you mess up, I'll hang you by the balls on that window." She said before heading out.

Elesis left with all her comrades. She still didn't know a thing about the horse, but at least she knew that there was more people involved than she originally thought. Her Elshard suddenly rang.

"Elesis? It's Eve. May I remind you that you promised to explain things to me after the festival?"

"Sorry, something happened, I'll be there in a second." She answered.

"Terrible timing," Elesis thought.

She ordered her comrades to disperse and made her way to the school. She checked the clock, it was still early.

The student council was still almost empty, with only Aisha and Eve working at the time. Chung would eventually come to deliver something only to be sent out again.

"You wanted to see me your majesty?" Elesis asked after arriving.

"Very funny. Alright, explain yourself."

Aisha, who was working on the heating schedule; stopped her work to hear out the other girl.

"I told you I was going to tell you this, but not with her listening in," She said pointing at Aisha.

"She's the vice-president, you can trust her as much as you trust me." Eve said.

"I don't even trust you. I'm just telling you this because I want you to leave me alone."

Eve sighed. She stood and walked outside the room, gesturing Elesis to follow her.

"I'm sorry Aisha, I'll keep you informed."

* * *

Aisha entered her room. It was already pretty dark outside. The school megaphone system warned all the students to not leave the dorms since the temperature was dropping fast. She just undressed, leaving nothing more than her shirt and panties on. Inside the rooms the temperature was pretty nice. The usual dusty smell of the heaters being powered on for the first time in the year floated in the air. She hugged her pillow and rolled on her bed.

"Damn you. Damn you. Damn you… Eve, you idiot. You're wasting time with that retarded criminal…" Aisha said, squeezing her pillow in frustration.

She looked at her DVDs, there was a movie she picked up that morning to watch with Eve resting out of the box on top of the player.

"And why would I want to hear anything about her? What's up with the whole 'I won't speak in front of her' thing?" Aisha said, imitating Elesis with a high pitched voice.

As she was ranting, she heard a knock on her door. She opened and found Ara on the other side.

"Good evening Aisha, I was wondering if you wanted to come over to our room. Rena brought a lot of chocolate drinks so we are having a little party over there." Ara asked with a wide smile.

Aisha was about to tell Ara that she already had plans when she reconsidered it. Even if she made plans with Eve for the night, since she left with Elesis she thought it would be okay to go with Ara. And if Eve happened to appear, then that would also teach her a lesson.

Or so Aisha thought as she followed Ara to her room. Ara's room was one of the few three persons' rooms in the dorms, housing the two of them and Rose. As soon as she arrived, she located the small stove next to Ara's bed so she quickly claimed it as her spot to sit. Rena was preparing a chocolate drink on their microwave and Rose was messing around with her big weapon collection.

"It's working on the student council hard, miss Aisha?" Ara asked.

"Well, it's not hard, but it's very tedious. You just have to do a lot of work." Aisha explained with a bit of pride in her voice.

"Oh, and you need a lot of patience to get along with the boss." Rena said returning to the group with four chocolate mugs on her hands.

"What? You mean Eve? No, she's easy to get along with…" Aisha answered before thinking about today's incident.

"Isn't she bossy? Preppy? A pain in the ass?" Rose wondered.

"No, no, no! She's really nice." Aisha said.

"Come on, she has to have at least one flaw right?" Ara said.

"Well, she takes her job too seriously sometimes. She gets stubborn about it and doesn't listen to others." Aisha complained.

"Oh, I see." Rena said.

"But it's nothing serious. She's just trying her best to help the students!" Aisha quickly doubled back.

The group laughed at her answer. They kept on drinking the delicious hot chocolate.

* * *

"Were are we going?" Eve asked.

"To my house." Elesis answered.

They walked over the school's parking lot. There Elesis unlocked her vehicle: a beautiful black motorcycle. She opened the seat compartment and took out a pair of helmets, giving one to Eve. After they had them on, she started the engine and motioned for Eve to mount.

Once on top of the bike, Eve wrapped her arms around Elesis and she quickly throttled the engine out of the parking lot. Elesis driving style was a bit too much for Eve, causing her to grip on to Elesis a bit more every time they would take a curve. The trip was quite long, they crossed the entire city and continued a bit more into the outskirts. The buildings got smaller until they were only 1 or 2 story locals.

There weren't that many people living so far from the city center, and that place was only occupied by people who either worked on the factories or that couldn't afford a house more centric. They stopped next to a huge walled trailer park where a lot of trailer homes were parked. Some of them looked like they've been there for ages. Elesis slowed until finally stopping the engine in front of one of the entrance of the park.

"Welcome to my home." Elesis said, securing the bike and putting the helmets back under the seat.

"You live _here_?" Eve asked.

It was a long and narrow trailer home. Its metallic chassis was painted grey with some parts corroded with brown oxide. Very few plants adorned its surroundings and all the windows were covered by blinds. There wasn't a fence around it.

"That's what I said," Elesis answered.

Despite being there, Elesis didn't moved to open the door, instead she waited till Eve finished inspecting her home and then asked her to follow.

"Were are we going?" Eve asked.

"As you can see my house is not that big, so we are going to a cafeteria near here."

The cafeteria she was mentioned wasn't too far away. Eve didn't realized because it looked almost the same as every other trailer there, but it was a lot longer and wider, and all the windows were bigger and clearer. Next to every window there was a table with two red leather couches on each side. There weren't many people inside. Most of them were just eating alone either on the bar or in the most hidden tables. Elesis ordered something for both of them and they sat next to a window.

"Alright, you have questions so go ahead." Elesis said.

"Why are you living here?" Eve asked.

"When I left home I needed a cheap place to stay. And I also wanted a place where nobody would bother me, so this was the right place." Elesis answered.

"Why did you leave your home?" was Eve next question.

"I had an argument with my parents, since they weren't willing to change their opinions so I left them." Elesis answered.

The waiter brought a pair of coffee cups and some crackers. After he left, Eve continued.

"What was the argument about?"

"I didn't want to follow family traditions because they're dumb."

There was a pause in Eve questions. Elesis sipped her coffee. She was constantly moving on her seat, like if she really wanted to go out and get that over.

"Why don't you live in the school dorms?"

"They are ridiculously expensive. And I don't need that kind of luxury after all. I just want to save all the money I can before finishing school and leaving." She answered.

"If you have decided on that, don't you think is kind of risky to do all those things you and your gang do all the time?"

"Maybe, but I like to have a plan B."

"What were the traditions you didn't want to follow?" Eve asked.

"You really want to know? Basically my dad wanted me to join the Velder army like he did. And all of that. But it's bullshit."

"Why do you think so?"

"Joining the army, having that honor live… all of that is just a lie."

It looked like Elesis was about to say something else, but she remained silent.

"I have the feeling you're not telling me everything." Eve said.

"Maybe, but I don't want to speak about it. Was that all the info you needed?"

Eve nodded. Elesis check the time in her Elshard.

"I have to go work, come on, I'll drive you home before it gets late."

"There's no need for that, I'll call my driver."

* * *

"Drink! Drink! Drink!"

Rose and Rena cheered over Aisha who was trying to gobble up a big mug of some kind of alcoholic beverage. She put down the empty container while letting out a satisfied sigh. Ara was a bit afraid for her friend state. At some point of the night they left the chocolate aside to drink. However the alcohol was turning Aisha into a whiner.

"I just joined the damn… student council thing because of her. I wanted to be like her you know? She's always so incredible… but recently she's just being an idiot. Worrying about those bastards so much. She never worried so much about me before." She protested as she refilled her mug.

"Aisha, I think you already had enough of that…" Ara said.

Too late since Aisha didn't wait before swallowing the drink. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes half closed. She was totally drunk.

"And then there's that girl, Elesis. She is incredibly insolent. We gave her more chances than anyone else would get and she still dares to mess up with us. I'm so sick of her… I hope she just disappears."

She swayed a bit. Rena and Rose were laughing at her comments.

"Because of the amount of work we had during the festival I couldn't even enjoy it. We were going to have our little celebration today but…"

Before finishing her speech, Aisha fell asleep. Ara was the first to move and pick her up. After confirming she was really asleep, she decided to carry her back to her room. As she was walking through the hallway she spotted someone on Aisha's door.

"Miss Eve, what are you doing here this late at night?" Ara asked as she approached her.

"I was supposed to see Aisha tonight, but unfortunately I had to leave due to council work… I see I'm too late." She said pointing to Aisha sleeping body.

"Well, yeah… I'm sorry." Ara said.

"No. It's my fault. Leave her to me; I'll take care of her for you so please return to your room and rest."

Ara thanked her while handling the unconscious Aisha to her.

"I think Aisha doesn't realize Eve really worries about her…" She thought to herself while walking back.

* * *

Elesis entered her workplace using the employee's entrance. It lead directly to a locker room. She rushed to get change. There wasn't any other girl there changing since she was already a bit late. After putting on the bunny costume and leaving all her other clothes on her locker she went through the door, entering the backroom. There a group of waiters were preparing drinks and snacks. One of them gave her a server with a bunch of long glasses with whisky on them.

"Elesis, take that to booth number six." He said and immediately started preparing the next order.

"How lucky." She thought.

Maybe the manager didn't notice her arriving late. She avoided him and entered booth number 6 wearing her best smile. There was already a girl inside and three guys she didn't know. They were cheerfully drinking, enjoying her colleague's company. Elesis left the drinks on the table and something caught her eye. One of the men seated there had his suit's jacket unbuttoned and a tattoo was visible over the t-shirt collar. It was the same black horse she saw on the drawings before.

"Nice tattoo you've got there." Elesis said looking at him.

He sat straight and gave her an uninterested look.

"Don't worry about me, I'm just here to guard Mister Cordonne." He said, turning his gaze away from her.

"Oh, come on Bill, don't be a party pooper. Can't you be like your partner?" The man seating in the middle of them said.

Bill's partner was currently trying to lay his hands on the other girl there while she was constantly pushing him away. After looking at him, he let out a sigh and patted the place next to him, allowing Elesis to sat there.

"So you like tattoos?" She asked.

"Not really, I was told to carry this one." He said.

"Why?"

"Work."

He wasn't very interested in talk. Elesis leaned a bit more onto him.

"I know right? They also told me to wear this costume to work here." She said chuckling.

The man also chuckled.

"So you're a bodyguard?"

"More like a babysitter." He answered.

He made a gesture with his head, pointing at the man next to him. He was old and very fat. He wore a white suit that was about to give in under the pressure of his enormous paunch. There wasn't many hair left on his head and some wrinkles were visible on his forehead. He was stuffing himself with the snacks and drinks she brought.

"That doesn't look like a baby." Elesis said laughing.

"He acts like one. Thinking he's a big shot and all of that while he's just a spoiled brat." Bill said.

"To hell with him them, let's talk about you. Do you really live on the face of danger?" Elesis asked.

"Well, I guess you could say that I don't have a quiet job." He answered.

"Oh… men like you are really interesting. Why don't you tell me something about it?" Elesis suggested.

"Well, I can't really tell you. I'll just say that I've been in more than one shooting."

"Really? Did you shoot a lot of bad guys?" Elesis asked, placing her hand on his leg.

"Well, I'm not sure if they were really bad guys."

The man in the middle finally got tired of eating and stared at his two bodyguards.

"Hey Bill, why are you so afraid to tell her? Listen up pretty girl. This boy here is the number one shooter of our organization. He's a cold killer so be careful with him."

"Boss, I would appreciate if you didn't spout out information in front of everyone you face." Bill protested.

"Why? If some trouble appears you'll be able to handle it right?" The fat man said laughing loudly.

Elesis grabbed Bill by his chin and made him face her.

"Ignore him, we're having our own share of fun."

"I wish I could, but his behavior usually causes a lot of trouble. You can't tell everybody who you are when you're a part of… our organization."

"Organization? You speak about shooting and danger. I think I can already guess what kind of organization that is, my dear." Elesis said.

"Well, I suppose you're used to that sort of thing if you work here."

Elesis laughed.

"Danger. Shootings. Protecting rich guys… I'll say your organization is some kind of mob." Elesis said, resting her back against Bill and tracing a finger on the tattoo on his collar.

He laughed nervously.

"You're right girl." The older man said. "We are the most powerful underground association in this damn island, you can be sure of that."

"I told you to shut up already." Bill said.

The manager of the shop appeared to check on everybody there.

"Is there anything I can bring you fine gentlemen?" He said.

"Why don't you bring in some more girls?" The old man said.

"As you say."

Soon, the booth became a bit cramped. Three more girls arrived, making having a chat harder. Bill was especially nervous while his partner was still trying to get near the girl from before.

"What's up? Don't you like this kind of thing?" Elesis asked.

"There's so many people here, basically we're asking for trouble now."

"Relax, I know these girls, they're good people, you don't have to worry."

"Listen to her, boy. You're being too paranoid." The fat man said.

"Anyway, it's time to go boss, you won't want to be late to the meeting right?" Bill said.

His face totally changed, the annoying behavior he exhibited before disappeared and grew more serious.

"You're right. You two, we're leaving." He said, standing up to leave.

Both Bill and his partner got ready to leave without protesting. While they were checking out, Elesis called for Bill.

"I've got the feeling you wanted to… stay here a bit more, but seems like you can't. So, if you want, come in again and ask for me. We could chat a bit more." Elesis said handing him a card.

Before placing it in his cards, she kissed it and winked at him.

The rest of the night was pretty quiet. Elesis had to entertain a bunch of drunken executives until it was her time to leave. When she entered the locker room again to get changed only a tiny group of girls remained there.

"You gave that guy your card huh? Did you liked him or what?" One of the girls changing asked. She was the same that was on the booth before Elesis arrived.

"He looked like he would leave a good tip if it weren't by mister fat ass there." Elesis answered.

"Be careful, I heard those guys are from the mafia. They're dangerous people." She said.

"Don't worry, I'm just going to do my work and nothing else."

She finished changing and left. The street was incredibly cold when she got out. It was near 5:00 AM.

"I hope that guy comes back. I need more info on them." She thought to herself.

However meddling with the mafia was something Elesis wasn't really interested in. If it turns out that they were the ones that took the cargo of Elum she wouldn't have other choice than to forget about it. But rumors aren't reliable enough. She would get the info before acting.


	11. Special Snowflake

_**This chapter took a lot more than expected to be published T.T**_

 _ **I hope you enjoy it!**_

* * *

A strong wind howled through Altera. A dense mist covered the city and its surroundings. The streets were totally empty due to the extreme temperature drop. Only the mad would go out in a day like this.

"Come on worms, show me your spirit!"

Students unfortunate enough to be out in this weather were running along the school's track as the harsh winds battered them. On the center of the track was teacher Q, wearing her usual white and pink suit.

"Oh god… why did Edan have to go out for a meeting right today," Chung gasped.

"This is penance for our sins, boy," Raven added.

Because of Edan's absence, military training was being handled by Q for all the students that day. The students who usually trained under her didn't protested and were severely outperforming those who usually trained under Edan. The cold wind was so intense that frostbite became a real threat to the student. They completed a total of 10 laps before Q let them enter the gym.

The gym had its own heating system, meaning the temperature there was a lot more bearable than outside. However, it did little for the students a few degrees away from hypothermia. Mistress Q ordered them do strength exercises. Chung quickly paired with Raven to do pushups.

"Only ten minutes more and we will be free," Chung groaned.

"I wouldn't be counting on that," Raven said looking at Q, who was heading their way.

"You two, we need to speak."

They followed her outside the gym and into the teacher's offices. Thankfully, the temperature was a lot warmer than the gym due to its small size.

"I guess you already heard about the big expedition happening next week," She said.

"Yeah. We heard about it already," Chung answered.

"Let me guess: you're going to tell us we can't go because of what happened," Raven said.

"No. Quite the opposite. You're being forced to assist."

"What?" Both of the students said in unison.

"The president has decided that it would be a suitable disciplinary action. Unlike most of you think, this expedition is not a child's excursion to the zoo. You're going to see the war. So get ready for it. Dismissed," Q said.

She returned to the gym with the two of them in tow. Apparently everyone was slacking off while she was away. It was quite evident because everyone rushed to start exercising when she opened the door. But either she didn't realize it or didn't care.

"Exams to assist to next week expedition will be held tomorrow at night in the school's auditorium. You can go home now," She said.

The ride back on the skipper was intense. The wind rocked the cabin constantly and the mist made it nearly impossible to see. The skipper's two powerful headlights cut through the mist screen and were the only thing that helped the pilot in getting the students back. However, an even bigger problem brewed within the ship's cabin. Everyone was excited about going to the expedition.

"You're forced to go?" One student asked.

There was a circle around Chung and Raven, all the other students were either fascinated by the fact that they were forced to go or thinking that it was really unfair that they could skip the test.

"You guys need to calm down. They're sending us there as punishment, so either that place is hell or we are going to clean the latrines," Raven said.

That calmed everyone a little bit. It made the way back easier. Getting of the skipper and walking to the dorms was a challenge. By this hour the ground was already starting to froze and it was so cold that even running didn't helped.

* * *

The first drops of rain hit the windows on the student council room. Inside, all members were gathered, even Chung was summoned that day.

"The meteorological institute has sent a warning about a strong blizzard heading our way. It will hit the island tonight. This means that we will have to close the school tomorrow."

Eve was sitting on her desk; everyone else circled around her table. Aisha was looking through the windows.

"So we need to tell every student about it. I'll explain for the newcomers what is the protocol for this situation. First we send a message to all the students through the NN. We ask them to answer it in order to check if they received the message. If a student doesn't answer the message we will have to personally meet with them to warn them. Of course we won't text students who are in this room. In the message you have to include the reason of the closure, the amount of time, and ask for the reply. Now I'll tell you who will message who.

Eve started calling names and assigning groups of students. Each member had a total of 50 students to warn, which was a lot. Once everyone got his batch of students, Aisha came closer to her and whispered:

"How unexpected that Elesis is in your batch."

Eve didn't reply. She knew how irresponsible and lax Elesis was about things like this, so she didn't want anyone else to get in trouble for her.

"A big blizzard is arriving tomorrow so the school will remain closed for the week. Please answer me once you receive this message."

She wrote the message and selected the students she was in charge of as receivers. Sending the message was as easy as that, now all she had to do was wait for answers. Her Elshard immediately started beeping with a lot of answers from people who was already checking his Elshard.

Some of the council members decided to leave to visit the students who didn't respond. They had to get that done before it was too late so they decided to go as soon as possible. Chung was also checking responses. For the most part he received reply messages from the students he was assigned but there was one that he waited for that worried him: Ara. He remember that she's the type that would check her Elshard as soon as she received a message, so it was weird that she didn't answer. He left the room heading to the student council.

"I haven't received your message so I'll be going to school tomorrow. Shame on you if I die."

"Elsword you retarded brat!" Aisha yelled at the screen of her Elshard seeing Elsword's reply.

Eve was lucky with her reply, almost everyone answered. All but one. She checked, time and again, for Elesis' messages to see no reply. She checked the clock. It was her time for work and maybe she wasn't able to use her Elshard there. Her work uniform didn't look like it would have any pockets. Maybe she would see the message later, once she finished her shift. But what time did she finish? Eve didn't know, and she couldn't allow herself to wait that long. She left the room.

"Where are you going?"

She ran right into Aisha the moment she stepped out of the room.

"One student hasn't answered yet."

"Let me guess… Elesis, right?" Aisha asked, a tone of annoyance in her voice.

Eve slowly nodded.

"Fine, I'll go with you," She said.

"That won't be necessary, you can help the others instead," Eve answered.

"No! I want to go with you."

Eve was taken aback; Aisha was being a bit too overprotective for some reason.

"Aisha, I'm grateful that you worry about me. But I don't need you coming along. Elesis is a rather difficult student and I feel like you presence there would only complicate things more," Eve said.

Aisha stepped back, clearly hurt.

"As soon as I get to her, I'll come back. If you're not here I'll go to your room. I promise," Eve said.

"Maybe I won't want you coming then," Aisha answered.

"In that case I'll sleep in your door."

Aisha rolled her eyes.

"I can't get angry with you, that's unfair. Alright, I want you to message me if something happens and I'll go get you."

Eve nodded and quickly left. Aisha saw her off and walked back to the room.

Instead of calling her driver, Eve went directly to the parking lot. There was a car parked there that she owned. It was a small sporty coupe. She didn't want Zadkiel to come since she would rather avoid her relatives seeing her near Elesis' workplace. Driving to that place was difficult, however, as the police had closed a lot of roads.

Once she arrived at the spot she saw lots of police near the mall gates. The wind kicked up some debris and it hit the big skylight on top of the mall, causing a lot of shattered glass to spread over the place.

"Sorry miss, all the businesses here are closed for the day," A police officer explained seeing Eve draw near.

"I was looking for a friend here, are there any casualties?"

"No, no hurt people either. Your friend may already be at their house."

Eve left the mall. If she was not there, why didn't she answer the message? Worry and anger grew in her mind as she drove towards the trailer park. It was getting late and she didn't want to worry Aisha again. But how could she not worry about Elesis. She remembered the trailer she lived in. Its thin metallic walls didn't looked like they would keep the cold away. And there wasn't any wiring attached to it. She wondered if it even had any heating.

Altera winters were so intense that heating wasn't a luxury but a necessity. There's no way someone could live on the island without something to warm their homes.

Her headlights beamed at the trailer that belonged to Elesis. There wasn't any light. Either she wasn't home or she was sleeping. Eve knocked on the door and waited for a response. The cold wind chilled her legs. She left in such a hurry that she didn't grab her muffler. She waited for Elesis answer trying to cover herself from the wind as better as she could. After five minutes of waiting, Eve finally gave up. The only other place she could be was near the cafeteria where Elesis took her when they first came here together. She started making her way there. But shortly after she left the trailer's tiny front yard she started to feel pain. It was so cold that her body hurt all over.

"I'll warm up a bit with the car's heater."

She thought to herself, but when she tried to open the car's door she realized it was locked. More importantly she left the keys inside. She wasn't used to driving by herself, so that was to be expected. She checked for her Elshard. Unfortunately she saw it resting on the copilot seat. It may be the time to start panicking but she knew better. Head to the cafeteria to call for Zadkiel help was her new plan. The pain in her body was becoming numb, so she was able to walk. Walking in the direction of the cafeteria was tiresome. She felt her legs go number with each step until she finally fell. The pain was gone, but she felt really tired. She just closed her eyes for a while and she fell asleep.

* * *

"Aisha! Hey, wake up Aisha."

The student council room was nearly empty. Everyone was packing up to leave. Aisha had fallen asleep on Eve's desk. She rubbed her eyes as she looked at the man waking her.

"Sorry. I haven't been sleeping properly these past few days."

The clock marked nearly 1:00 AM; all students were already warned about the closure. She waited until everyone left the room and checked her Elshard. There wasn't any call or message. Since Eve wasn't there Aisha supposed she would be coming late again. Just in case she called her while walking to her bedroom. The Elshard rang for a long time before Aisha cut the call, not expecting her to pick up. She arrived at the main entry. The exterior was covered in snow to her surprise. Unfortunately the strong wind and the cold forced her to run directly to her dorm instead of enjoying the snow. She was shivering when she reached the safe warmth of the heaters.

There was still some hope for her to find Eve in her room, but the dark emptiness that welcomed her there dissipated any kind of hope. She searched through the papers she brought with her. There was a copy of the updated history for Elesis that Eve gave her. Luckily she at least wrote her number there, so Aisha called Elesis to check if she was with Eve.

"I can't speak right now, leave your message," A recorded message from Elesis said.

Aisha didn't bother leaving one, she just tossed the Elshard on her desk and let herself fall on the bed. She was about to fall asleep again when her belly rumbled. She remembered then that she skipped dinner. Not feeling like going to the kitchen at that hour she got up and headed for the vending machine instead.

"Aisha?"

A voice behind startled her, but she soon realized it was just Ara. Letting out a sigh she answered:

"What's up?"

"I'm having trouble falling asleep so I wanted to get some warm cocoa. Are you having trouble sleeping too?" Ara said.

"I guess you could say so," Aisha answered.

The main lights on the hallway were off and only the smaller lamps that turn on when someone get near illuminated their way. The vending machines that were placed on the main hall had a wide arrange of snacks and drinks. Both of them bought a hot drink. Ara got hot cocoa and Aisha got tea.

"Oh, did you know that Eve came here the other day in the end?" Ara said on the way back.

"Yeah… She always arrives when I'm already sleeping. Sometimes she even arrives when I'm getting ready for class," Aisha explained.

"So late!"

"She says it's because of all her work. She has a lot of things to do on top of being the student council president. However, her way of living really worries me. She barely gets enough rest, skips more than one meal on the same day and never take a break."

Aisha sighed.

"And to make matters worse, she started wasting more time worrying about that delinquent group rather than in expending time with her friends."

"I see. But I think I understand her," Ara answered.

Aisha looked at her confused.

"I mean. Even if she has that crazy amount of work, she stills bother in coming here, even if you're asleep just to know you're doing alright. Even if you don't even know about it, maybe she will come tonight as well. Actually I'm a bit jealous, to be honest. I wish I had a friend that would do that."

Ara's words reassured her a bit. Aisha did know that Eve cared for her, but it was harder to believe each time she would disappear and not even answer her calls just to appear the next day with her usual attitude of "nothing happened". She also felt a bit selfish, considering how hard she works.

After parting ways with Ara, she shoved herself under the blankets on her bed. Would she see Eve if she stays awake a bit longer? She wanted to do it, but eventually her exhaustion took over, making her fall asleep.

* * *

When Eve opened her eyes she didn't recognize where she was. It was a cramped room. There was only a desk and the bed she was laying in. She tried to move but the moment she tried a horrible pain ran through her body. As she awaked from her dream, the pain she was feeling before falling asleep started to come again. She checked her body and realized she was totally naked. In a self-reflex she pulled the blankets over her to cover herself. Shuffling was heard through the only door on the room before it opened.

"You're awake."

Elesis appeared, stepping through the door. She was carried a server with two steamy cups in it. As she entered the room she switched the lights on. With the light Eve finally realized where she was: it must be Elesis' trailer, due to its size. It was a room with the walls, floor and ceiling upholstered with a smooth dark brown fabric riveted to the wall, giving it a puffy texture. The places that weren't covered with the fabric had blankets crudely attached as covering. In the center of the room was a weird stove Eve had never seen before. It was a crystal sphere that held a bright and tiny fire ball inside. It made some crackling noises and radiated a lot of heat.

"What happened?" Eve muttered trying not to move too much.

"You don't remember? You nearly froze to death, that's what happened," Elesis said, sitting on the desk's chair and handling Eve one of the steamy cups. She barely managed the strength to grab it and take a sip from it. However it was so disgusting she spat it back out immediately, coughing. Not only was it unsightly but it also made her body ache a lot.

"What is this?" She asked giving it back to Elesis who was laughing at the Nasod's reaction.

"A drink from a foreign land, it should warm you up, but I agree on the taste," Elesis said, drinking her cup in one go.

Eve laid back again. She hadn't realized before, but the bed was really comfortable. The mattress was nice and soft and the bed sheets were really smooth. It made her feel better; given that every little movement would hurt her right now.

"My clothes?" Eve asked.

"They were soaked so I stripped them off you," She answered.

"I see."

Even if she had just awoken from a dream, she still felt really tired, but Elesis was there waiting for some kind of explanation.

"So, did you come all the way here for…?"

"I needed to warn you about the school closing for the week due to the weather," She said.

"What? You come all the way here for that?"

"You didn't pick up your Elshard."

"Oh. Today the police evacuated the mall while I was working so I forgot it on my locker due to the rush."

There was a small pause. Then Elesis stood up.

"But why did you came all the way here alone? And why were you standing there with only your uniform in this cold. You know that if I've arrived just a bit later you could be dead right now. Are you an idiot? You're supposed to be intelligent, right? And still you can't take care of yourself on your own even when you expend so much time poking your nose around my business."

Elesis was ranting but she suddenly stopped when she saw Eve eyes looking down.

"Alright. Now is not the time to be discussing this. I'll ask the neighbor if they'll let me call for an ambulance so just rest a bit in the meantime," She said.

"No!" Eve yelled, surprising Elesis a bit. She looked back to see Eve trying to get out of the bed, clearly suffering the pain.

"I can't be seen like this," She said.

"Don't be so stupid, I'll lend you some of my clothes," Elesis answered trying to get her back.

"I'm not talking about that. If I'm seen this weak… I can't allow you to do that."

Elesis snorted. She grabbed Eve's arms to try and put her back into bed. But the Nasod yelled in pain when Elesis grabbed her, causing her to immediately pull her hands away.

"Sorry… See, you're not okay at all," Elesis said.

"I'll be alright, I just need to rest a bit and warm up my body temperature… Don't forget that I'm a Nasod, a little cold won't do anything to me," Eve said.

Giving up any hope to make her change her mind, Elesis just shrugged. She left the room looking at her hand.

"A Nasod you say?" She thought to herself.

The feeling was like soft skin and tender meat. She kind of expected it to be cold as steel, or bumpy with metal screws. But it was instead soft, goosebump-covered skin due to the cold covering a frail and delicate body. She hadn't noticed it while undressing her since she did it in such a rush.

Elesis looked through the window. The weather wasn't improving at all. Luckily she was coming back from the grocery shop when she found the freezing president. With all that snow it wouldn't be weird to get stuck in the trailer parking. After warming up some pre-cooked food on the microwave she entered the small bedroom again.

Eve was still awake even though she seemed so tired. She looked to Elesis as she entered the room again.

"To be honest, I was worried about you since you said you lived in this trailer," Eve said.

"You thought I would be shivering to death? Hah! Ironic, right?" Elesis said opening the pre-cooked plate's plastic sealing.

The pre-cooked meal was just rice with chicken meat. It had a curry flavor bag of sauce that Elesis tore open and mixed with the rice.

"It took me a lot of time but I prepared for the Alteran winter. And I can also do this."

She placed her hand near the sphere at the strange looking stove and the flame inside grew in intensity.

"I don't have to worry about the cold you see." She said and resumed eating.

Eve stared at the bright flame on the glass ball and then looked back at her.

"Can you warm me up too?"

* * *

Chung was bored in his room. Despite being late at night he wasn't feeling like going to sleep already. Elsword was watching some popular TV series about a chef who was especially harsh on people. His Elshard rang and he reached for it. It was a message from the school directive.

"All students who applied for the expedition exam will receive tomorrow at 5:00 PM a document with the test. All students must complete it in 50 minutes and send it back.

Additionally, students Raven and Chung will not need to take part in this exam."

Chung left the Elshard on the shelf, next to his bed; and sighed.

"Well, at least I don't have to do the exam," He said.

"Aren't they worried about people cheating?" Elsword asked without averting his gaze of the TV.

"It's a 100-question test and they give 50 minutes which mean that unless you know the answers you won't be able to fill it in time if you try to look the answers up," Chung explained.

"100 questions. That's a lot. Is it that important?"

"We are going to be sent on a real battleship to a real battle."

"Sent on a real battleship NEAR a real battle, or so I heard."

Chung shook his head.

"And turn the volume down, I want to sleep already." He said.

* * *

Eve opened her eyes. The pain was finally gone. Her body also felt a lot warmer. Elesis' room was empty now. She stood up and headed out. Stopping upon realizing she was still naked. She wrapped herself with a blanket and stepped out of the room. She found Elesis sitting on a table at one side of the trailer.

The trailer interior was really narrow. A tiny path separated a table on one side surrounded by shelves and a kitchen, complete with a fridge, on the other side. Right next to the dormitory door there was another one, half-opened which lead to a bathroom fully equipped with both toilet and shower. And at the front there was a sofa and a TV.

Elesis took a sip from her coffee and waved at Eve.

"Good morning your highness. Did you sleep well?" She asked.

Eve nodded and sat in front of her.

"We have a problem," Elesis said taking another sip.

"What is it?" Eve asked.

Elesis pointed at one of the windows of the trailer. Eve looked through it. At the other side she found a large extension of white snow. All the other trailers on the parking where half covered in snow.

"We're trapped here. I can't open the door. It looks like we won't be going anywhere." Elesis said.

Eve sat in front of her.

"You lost your Elshard and mine is in my car, under a thick layer of snow. And since the lights are out I'm assuming we don't have electricity either."

"I turned everything off to save power. We do have energy but it looks like the supply wire was damaged."

"So, what is the protocol in these situations?" Eve asked.

"Well. Wait until they clear the way. The snowplow may be on the way. However there's so much snow that I don't think they will be coming today."

Upon saying that Elesis stood and left the coffee mug on the kitchen's sink. She wandered over to the windows.

"You're taking this pretty well. I thought you would be panicking." She said, grinning in a mocking way.

"Panicking won't solve anything." Eve said.

She immediately thought of Aisha. She was right about coming to visit Elesis not being a really good idea. If Aisha were there she could use magic to take her out of the trailer. But unfortunately she was stuck there with a delinquent as company.

"Anyway, thank you." Elesis said all of the sudden.

"For what?"

"If you hadn't come I'd have left for school earlier and I would be trapped on the snow right now."

Aisha was right about it being a bad idea, but it was unavoidable. What was actually a bad idea was to leave her behind.

"Can't you use your fire magic to melt the ice?" Eve asked.

"For all this ice I would need quite the big flame. Believe me it's not as good idea as it looks like. If I lose control of it we could end up dead."

Eve stayed silent for a while. She was looking at Elesis. She felt Eve penetrating gaze and wandered around the trailer, trying to ignore it.

"Can I stay here until we get rescued?" Eve asked.

"It's not like you can go anywhere else. Do you even need to ask?"

"I'm aware that you don't like my presence here." Eve added.

"Look, we're trapped in the snow and there's an high chance that we will be here for a long time so… stop being like that. Go back to the bedroom or you'll get sick again."

Eve obeyed her. It was actually reassuring being allowed to shut herself in there. She wanted to collect her thoughts. Even without her Elshard there was ways for her to communicate. She moved her hands on a circle and a blue portal appeared above her. She extended her hands waiting, but after a moment the portal disappeared.

"Why isn't the link working?" Eve thought to herself.

Was it because she was still feeling weak from the hypothermia she had last night? She tried it again, but this time the portal lasted even less time opened. Her plan to call her reliable drones failed.

The door opened without a knock and Elesis entered the room carrying a server loaded with coffee and pancakes on one hand and a white shirt on the other one.

"Here's your breakfast. I'm not going to turn on the dryer until we get energy restored so your clothes are not dry yet. You can wear this in the meantime."

She handed Eve the shirt. It was a lot bigger than her size. Even if it wasn't the best thing for the winter at least it helped covering her body.

"And now do we just sit here and wait until something happens?" Eve asked.

"Do you have a better plan?"

They didn't say anything. The silenced lasted for a long time. For Elesis it was like hours, even if they were just minutes. She started tapping the table with her fingers, then stomping the ground and finally standing and wandering around the tiny room.

"Why don't you stop your dangerous activities and join the student council instead?" Eve suddenly asked.

"What?"

"I said that you could stop your…"

"Yeah, I heard that. I was asking if you really want to talk about that now."

"I don't but, as a human that is enclosed in such a small place, you're starting to act weird." Eve explained.

Elesis sighed and sat back.

"I would appreciate some talking, but I don't want to hear anything about your council, your rules, your forms, your…. Anything of that! Just a normal chat between girls. Ok?" Elesis said, sitting backwards on her chair facing Eve.

"Chat between girls?"

Her mind quickly searched for the topics Aisha would usually discuss with her. There was a lot of questions stored in her database. She discarded the ones tagged as student council related. After a little while Eve already had a question ready.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Oh, that's weirdly normal for you to ask… It's red, thought it was obvious…" Elesis replied.

"It's a dumb question. I don't know why I would want to know your preferred color but it's something Aisha would ask me."

"And what's yours?" Elesis returned the ball.

"I would say it would be pink."

"So you have a preferred color. I was expecting you to say something like "there's no sense in preferring a color over the others." Elesis said, mimicking Eve's tone.

"There are some things that actually make some colors better than others. Like for example how white can keep the heat away by reflecting like, or how black does the opposite."

"And what makes pink better then?"

"It's a soft color easy to combine when dressing up, so I waste less time on preparing if I use pink clothing."

Elesis rolled her eyes. Since she hadn't said anything else she made the next question.

"Do you like someone?" She asked.

"Heh, I like a lot of people."

"What I intend to know is if you have a person for whom you have romantic feelings."

"Well, there are a bunch of possibilities… but not really interested in it right now."

Eve rolled on the bed, trying to find her next question. She remembered that those questions would usually get longer and better questions from Aisha.

"Hey, and what about you?" Elesis asked "Got someone you like?"

"No." Eve stated.

"Oh… you don't have boyfriend?" Elesis playfully asked.

"Not right now" Eve answered.

"Or do you prefer a girlfriend?"

"For a Nasod like me gender isn't of any relevance."

Elesis pouted, but she realized something now that Eve mentioned Nasods.

"Hey, can't you Nasods connect to the NN without using an Elshard?"

"Since the production of Elshards and its mass distribution to other lifeforms the NN became infested with viruses and other kind of malware. Since then, all sentient Nasods are forbidden to access it without an external device to prevent problems related to that."

Elesis felt a bit disappointed hearing that. They really were trapped there. Staying silent was awkward but Eve's answer weren't really helpful in bringing up a conversation.

"Why does your pet hate me so much?"

Eve looked at her confused.

"Who are you referring as pet? If I recall correctly I don't own any kind of creature."

"I'm talking about the vice-president. Aisha." Elesis explained.

Eve frowned a bit and Elesis grinned.

"It's really rude for you to refer to her as a pet of mine. She's my colleague and also a friend," Eve stated, "I thought you weren't interested in talking about student council related things."

"I don't but you don't seem to be interested in anything else, and I also want to know why she hates me so much."

"She doesn't hate you. She hates the things you do because their consequences bring all kinds of trouble for us. Remember when your friends Raven and Chung got arrested. In order for us to be able to get Chung off the hook we needed to pull a lot of strings. We even pulled an all-nighter. And it was all for someone who wasn't forced to do what he did."

Eve hoped that speech would give Elesis something to think about, but judging by the look on her face it didn't.

"Nobody asked you to do that either." She replied.

"That's where you're mistaken. You may not know because you're so used to be so irresponsible that you can't see it. Since Chung's father is the King of Hamel, having his son, the prince; arrested in Altera would cause a commotion, and that would have brought huge problems for the school for allowing a student to get so out of hand that he ended in jail."

There was a tense silence.

"And what if his father didn't cared about it, then you would have done all of that for nothing."

"Probably."

And there it was: the awkward silence.

"Would you tell me what happened with your family?"

Eve question caught Elesis by surprise, she stuttered trying to answer something.

"Why would you ask that now of all times?"

"Because we have time. We run out of conversation topics. We were talking about father-child relationships…"

"No, no, no. What I meant was why do you want to know that?"

"I'm always trying to learn more about other lifeforms behavior. Humans used to have predictable behavioral patterns, being only able to change themselves when something very important happens to them. And your change was so radical that I can't possibly imagine what kind of traumatic experience you went through."

Traumatic experience sounded way too weird for Elesis, but it wasn't too far from reality.

"Would you just let it go? I've already told you everything you needed for that ID."

"This is not related to that, this time I wish to know it to know how to treat you." Eve said.

"How to treat me? It looks like you already know how. And I don't want you pitying on me." Elesis protested.

"I will not do such a thing. I'll give you my word." Eve assured.

Elesis sighed. Why did Eve have to be so stubborn? Was something she was made with or was it just her annoying personality?

"Okay. I'll tell you. It's not like you wouldn't find out if you search it up or something, so I guess it's better if I tell you directly since I don't want you to find an altered version of the truth. But in exchange you won't ask me again about it and you will answer any question I ask from you from now on. Deal?"

Eve took seriously long time thinking about that.

"Alright, I promise I shall not bring up this matter again in the future and that I will provide you with the answers you seek to the best of my ability." Eve said in a solemn tone.

"And of course you can't tell anyone about it, not even Aisha. If you do such a thing I will find you and turn you into a paperweight… Alright, where do I start."

Elesis massaged her eyes while thinking. She started by explaining about her life in her house. How she usually trained to join her father's mercenary corps, or how she would usually took care of Elsword when they were out. She tried to make it as short as possible since they were things she didn't really wanted to remember.

"One day Father took me to the camp were the mercenaries were stationed. It was my first time meeting them and luckily for my, Father had to leave right away leaving me alone there, so I could socialize with them without him scaring off everyone. There I met her. A young and incredibly beautiful girl that I fell for on the first moment I saw her."

Elesis made a pause to see if Eve was listening. She was sitting on the bed, with her poker face unchanged.

"She had just started training with the mercenaries when I met her. We starting to spend time together every time I was at the camp and eventually we formally started dating. At first we didn't tell anybody else because I knew Father wouldn't like it. So we would sneak out of camp and have fun by ourselves elsewhere before returning."

There was an unusual warmth in Elesis voice. Those were some memories she really cherished.

"We went through everything quite fast: our first kiss, our first night together, secretly hand-holding… lots of things you would do with a lover. But one day we got discovered. It was quite the commotion: It was one night that I was allowed to stay in the camp. She finished her guard and came back to the tent and I snuck in there. We were doing it when someone entered the tent, he said that it was by mistake; and we got discovered. it didn't take long for my father to be informed and as expected he didn't liked it."

Elesis moved to sit next to Eve in the bed.

"He tried to separate me from her. He forbid me to visit the camp again and sent her in a mission far away. I was so angry with him that I even tried to get her to desert so we could run away together but… She said that would only make things worse and that it would be troublesome for me. She was sure that if we try to convince my Father we could be together again someday. But that didn't happen… A week later a messenger came home asking Father to come to the camp, oddly enough he also said that I should go to. He allowed me to go."

Elesis stopped again. Eve leaned towards her to check her face. It was sad, but there wasn't a single tear in it.

"When we arrived at the camp one of Father's soldiers told us the mission was a failure and that lots of our soldiers had died. We were lead to a place were a lot of bodies covered in sheets rested. I was asked to identify one of them. They removed the sheet momentarily and I looked fearing the worse. And as expected I found my lover's corpse there. She was covered in scars and open wounds. Her usual perfect body and smooth skin was turned into a broken hide. Even her clothes looked like they'd been ripped on purpose by someone with who knows what kind of ill intent..."

Elesis clutched her fist on the bedside and she continued.

"That was the last time I cried. After that I took revenge on father. I burned his damn things and stole what I could from him. He stole something from me that I would never be able to get back so I only want him to suffer the same thing. One day I hope to see him under the same white sheets..."

Eve covered her mouth before speaking.

"You shouldn't say things you would regret." She said.

Elesis took a long breath and let it out slowly.

"She died thinking that doing the right thing would help us. That doing that was worthy. I don't know if my Father sent her there on purpose. She wasn't fully trained, and she wasn't especially skilled either… So there you have it. That's why I hate the army and the same reason I don't want to waste time on those useless things you care so much for."

Elesis stood and sat back on her chair, swinging on it a bit. Eve was lost in thought.

"Hey, don't worry too much about it… I already got over it. The reason I didn't want everybody knowing is that I don't want everybody pitying on me or reminding me of what happened." Elesis said.

"I see. I'm sorry for your loss."

Elesis gestured with her hand as if it was nothing. She stopped her swaying and now sat, leaning towards Eve with a grin again in her face.

"So, girls or boys?"

"I've already told you that Nasods…"

"Oh no, no excuses, give me an answer. You promised to answer my questions, remember?"

"But I don't understand your question. I do know that humans position themselves on different opinions about the gender they prefer for their mate but I do not understand on what they base this decision." Eve explained.

"It's not something you can actually decide. It just happens."

"In that case it hadn't happened for me."

"I don't believe it. I mean, you do have feelings so you had to felt something for someone at least once."

"I'm sorry, I fear that is not correct."

Elesis snorted.

"Alright. When you found out that I stripped you what did you feel?"

"I felt a little scared."

"Well… yeah I guess is scary waking up naked. But after I explained it did you feel annoyed, embarrassed or…?" Elesis left the phrase unfinished for Eve to do it.

"I felt grateful. It was the right decision to take my wet clothes of."

Elesis let out a tired groan.

"Okay, what would you feel if I start unbuttoning your shirt now?"

"I don't know." Eve stated.

"Is that an invitation?"

"Not really."

"You're really boring you know. Oh, I know. What if it were Aisha the one doing it?"

It was a really small reaction, but Elesis was sure she saw Eve's top left eyelid moving a tiny bit when she heard that. That or Elesis was starting to get crazy from being trapped there with Eve.

"Why would she do such a thing?" Eve asked, covering her chest in a reflex.

"Just imagine it. One day she's alone with you in your room and then she suddenly pins you down and starts undoing your clothes with a ravenous look in her eyes… Feeling excited?"

"You know, now I do feel annoyed."

Eve answer made Elesis laugh out loud, making Eve feel more annoyed.


	12. Royalty

_**There was a long delay here due to work and new year but... well here you have it! Please enjoy ^-^**_

* * *

Eve rolled from one side to another, unable to sleep. Elesis was sleeping right next to her, still in her bedroll. She wanted to sleep on the floor, but Eve insisted that since she was the guest there she should be the one using the bed, so the final agreement ended in both of them on the bed, but with Elesis on top of the blankets using a bedroll. The little flame on the orb faded when Elesis fell asleep, however the insulation in the room was good enough to keep it warm with the heat source off. Neither hot or cold, the room was at the perfect temperature.

But the fluffy bed, the comfy room, the nice company and the boredom wasn't enough to make Eve fall asleep. She moved around in bed constantly, her head full of the events that happened earlier that day ranging from what Elesis just told her to the things she asked later.

"She acts like this because of her lover's death… I'm not good with traumatic experiences, maybe I should ask the school's counselor help…" She thought to herself.

She looked at the ceiling, resting her arm over her forehead, shielding her eyes from the little light that filtered into the room. She attempted to push her thoughts away, but every time she tried doing so, a new thought would take its place.

"Does it mean that his little brother, Elsword; hate her? She did some really terrible things before she left…"

More uncomfortable movements. She came to a stop when she looked at Elesis. The little light that illuminated her face was enough to reveal a softer side Eve had never seen before.

"She looks peaceful when she's asleep. She's always frowning at me as if I were a pressuring her to do something. Well I guess I'm always being a pain for her… But it's not like she's that easy to get along with in the first place…"

She looked away from her.

"Even so here I am. I would be in real trouble if it weren't for her. And now I'm sleeping under her roof…"

She looked into the ceiling again.

"I wonder if it's okay to tell the counselor about her, she asked me not to tell anyone. And of top of that, I don't know what kind of things she has done until now. Maybe I can try to manage this by myself. But now I want to get some sleep already."

She reviewed her thoughts in her mind. They danced from one side of her brain to another. Now that she finally had a resolution for them she's able to archive them and finally sleep. She could have done so from the start, but she knew her mind wouldn't let her rest easy if she did.

Once everything important had been organized in her head, however, she remembered a more… unlikely scenario that was mentioned earlier. The thought of herself in a room, being pinned down by her friend Aisha filled her mind. As soon as she realized what it was, she shook her head as if trying to cast it aside. But as soon as it was gone it came back, now slightly different.

Eve tried to remove that thought from her head and every time she tried it altered itself and came back. Elesis words resounded in her mind as if it where some kind of perverted echo "Just imagine it. Aisha pushing you down with such intentions…"

"What am I even thinking? Such thing from my friend…" She thought, desperately trying to get it away.

But she didn't take long to realize that it wasn't a thought. It was something different. Something that she didn't have a name for. Iit remained there, replaying itself after every attempt at deleting it.

Not being able to get rid of it, she tried to ignore it, but for some reason she couldn't stand it. The simple fact of that exact thought playing in her mind made her felt bad. She felt… guilty. Ashamed. Embarrassed. In a fit of frustration she let out a pained groan.

"What's wrong with you? You slept so easily earlier…" Elesis said as she angrily rolled over her bedroll.

Eve covered herself under the blankets in a hurry, as if she feared that Elesis could read her mind.

"I'm sorry, there's something on my mind I can't get rid of…" Eve complained turning her back as well.

"Is it because of what I told you? Pay it no mind, you don't need to worry about it."

"I wish, but it is not that…"

Elesis looked at her, sitting on the bed.

"Is it because of my questions later? Don't worry, I was just messing with you. Now sleep, for once." She said.

However she realized when she saw Eve's face. It was an unusual face. Not because it was weird but rather because it was a face Elesis thought Eve would never do. Her eyes looking away, with her lower lip between her teeth and a soft, pink blush around her blue face marks.

"Is it because of what I said about you and Aisha?" Elesis asked.

She didn't need anything more than the angry look Eve gave her. She laughed and shoved herself back into the bedroll.

"Did I hit the nail on the head with that question? Or is the thought of such adult matters too much for you to handle?"

"I preferred it when you were asleep." Eve yelled, turning away.

* * *

The windows of the school dorms creaked under the wind pressure. A thin layer of ice formed over them. Inside, Aisha stared into the snow blizzard. Her alarm clock still buzzing. She lazily moved to shut it off. She forgot to do it last night. Since the school was closed it wasn't necessary to wake up early. Right after turning it off and before stepping out of the bed, she checked her messages on the Elshard. A bored smile on her face when she saw no new messages from Eve.

"I guess she couldn't come back with all this snow. She may have went to her house instead." She thought, stepping out of the bed and getting dressed.

Even if the school was closed, she had work to do as a student council member. Checking if everyone's safe, making an inventory in a case of emergency… They were very boring things that couldn't keep her distracted from her worry.

As soon as she was able to take a rest, she went directly to her room and grabbed her contact notebook. She searched through it until finding Eve's home number. She dialed there and waited.

"Good morning, this is the Royal residence, who am I speaking to?" A male mechanical voice said on the other side.

"Good morning. Uh… I'm Aisha. I'm Eve's classmate and her vice-president on the student council. I just called to know if she's home right now." She asked.

There was some noise on the other side as if he were searching some papers.

"Aisha Landar, right? I'm afraid that Eve informed us that she would be spending the night at the campus grounds as usual."

Aisha hung up. If Eve wasn't at home and she hadn't returned to her room where was she? Her brow furrowed as she ran to her drawer and put on her best winter clothes. Once dressed she left the room, storming for the door.

"Miss Aisha! Where are you going in this snow?"

Aisha turned around to see Ara calling for her. She looked back at the dorm doors and at herself again before sighing.

"Nowhere."

She went back to her room and changed again. She had changed three times already and the day had just started. She would yell at her for that. She was feeling angry again. Not only did she broke her promise but also worried her.

* * *

Eve opened her eyes. Elesis was softly pushing her.

"You're finally awake, sleeping beauty."

Eve rubbed her eyes. In the end she was able to sleep for a bit, but she wondered why Elesis would wake up so early today.

"There are some friends of yours outside; they came to pick you up." She explained seeing Eve's confused eyes.

Eve quickly jumped off her bed and peeked from a window. A big snow plow had created a path followed by one of her official cars. A group of winged Nasods, dressed in black thick coats waited around it.

"You can put your clothes back on now," Elesis said, handling them to her "I dried it up with my fire."

Eve nodded as a thanks and went out after getting changed. One of them quickly approached her.

"Your majesty, we're terribly sorry for not coming before. We're glad you're safe now." He apologized.

"How did you find me?" She asked, ignoring the Nasod's words.

"The young master did it for us, he was the one who ordered us to pick you up too." He explained.

After hearing this, Eve stopped in her tracks, not getting into the car they had already prepared for her. She looked back and saw Elesis waiting on the door. When she saw Eve looking at her she made a gesture for her to go away at once. Eve however went to speak with her again.

"Will you be alright here?" She asked.

"Of course, you can go now, I don't like having those feathered guys over here…" Elesis answered.

"After all you did for me it wouldn't be right of me to leave like this… Would you like to come over my place, you can remain there until the blizzard goes away." Eve proposed.

"That sounds awfully nice from you, but I'll pass. I'm good here by myself." She said in a dismissive tone.

"Please. You'll probably end up trapped here again if you stay here, and this time you would be alone." Eve insisted.

"Alone would be better than with you." She said.

However Elesis regretted it after seeing Eve's eyes drop in sadness. She wasn't expecting this; it was the first time Eve would react to her insults.

"Hey… don't make that face now," Elesis started to say "Alriiiight… I'll go with you, but don't get used to it."

Eve's eyes returned to her normal neutral state as she nodded and gestured for Elesis to get in the car. She rolled her eyes when one of the escorts offered her a hand to get in the car. The first one who spoke with Eve approached her again to whisper.

"Why is this plebeian coming with us?" He said in a quiet voice.

"Be more respectful of my guests," Eve angrily reproached.

"Yes, your majesty. I'm sorry, your majesty," He said stepping away from her.

She got in the car and sat next to Elesis. In front of them two of the escorts occupied the driver and copilot seats. They started moving, heading for the big and tall tower in the center of the island.

"Your servants are a bit of a nuisance," Elesis complained.

"They're not my servants," Eve answered.

Elesis raised an eyebrow but Eve didn't elaborate. The way from the trailer park to the tower was a lot faster than expected thanks to the snow plow cutting through the thick layer of snow and the absence of any other car on the road.

"Do you really live in that tower?" Elesis asked, pressing her face against the car window to try and see the top of the tower.

"That is correct."

Once they arrived the car drove through a big gate. They entered a long tunnel placed on the first floor of the tall tower. After driving for a while they came to a stop in a place full of corridors and big metallic gates. The driver lined the car with one of the gates and it opened, revealing a big lift truck. They boarded it and it began ascending.

The ascension was a lot longer than the way here due to the slower speed of the lift and the silence. Elesis would nervously watch over the floor count on one of the lift's displays. It was already on floor 1559 and it keep going up.

"Where are we going?" She asked, patience running out.

"Home," Eve stated.

The lift finally stopped with a resounding "ding" and the metal doors slid open. Elesis couldn't believe what was on the other side: a Nasod-made grassy hill with a two-story building crowning the very top. The house itself was symmetrical with segments that could easily be cut into cubes. The first floor had its foundation built in the shape of a letter H, while the upper floor segments were shaped less uniformly reaching as far as the outer walls of the tower. The external walls where made of white wood and adorned with various kinds of climbing plants, with flowered flowers whose petals ranged from intense reds to deep blues. A concrete path was paved that lead from the lift a small garage. Lawn lights dotted the path. On one end of the hill was a glass building where a pool could be seen through the windows while a tennis court could be seen on the opposite end of the hill. Even inside the tower the sky was visible, and a landscape filled with forest and distant mountains. Elesis realized,however, that the sky wasn't natural and that they were under a huge dome of holographic displays that mimicked the a natural landscape.

They parked and finally step of the car. Elesis stretched, tired of the long journey, earning a disapproving look from one of the Nasods accompanying her. They walked to the front gates and they were open from the inside. A maid-dressed Nasod girl welcomed them. She was shorter than Eve and wore a black and white classic maid dress, with a white hairband on her head. She had black long hair that fell over her face hiding her eyes. They walked in leaded by her.

Unlike the exterior, the inside of the building was mostly composed of beautiful white marble. Red carpet extended from the gate to the stairs, welcoming guests that entered the room. White classical columns extended from both sides hiding the corridors and other adjoining rooms. The floor was adorned with grey and black tiles, arranged in diamonds and squares. Statues were positioned along the hall immortalizing the figures of important people that Elesis remember seeing in history books. The ceiling had a big holographic panel that showed a beautiful blue sky that poured realistic beams of lights below. Most of the escorts leaved through one of the side doors, leaving the two girls with the maid and one of the winged Nasods.

"He's in your office waiting to see you, my Lady," One of the remaining escorts informed, gesturing for Eve to follow him up.

"If the young lady would follow, I'd be happy to show her the accomodations," The maid said, looking at Elesis.

Eve looked at Elesis and she returned the gaze.

"I'll show Elesis her room myself," She said.

"Forgive me, my lady, but he has been waiting for quite some time already. It would be better if you leave the banal tasks to your excellent servants," The Nasod standing, or rather floating; over the stairs said.

Eve sighed, looked at Elesis and nodded. She left upstairs. The leading maid leaned a bit to face her, causing her hair to fell to one side and reveal two crystal blue eyes and a soft smile.

"May I call you Elesis too? Please, follow me and I'll show you your room."

As if the left of those two cheered her up, she walked happily until they were in front of a light brown door on the first floor. She opened it and held the door for Elesis. She stepped inside to see a big spacious room. There was a big canopy bed placed opposite to the door. On one side a window displayed a holographic image of an arctic landscape while on the other side a welcoming fireplace waited to be lit. She quickly walk next to it and placed her hand over it. Flames emerged from the firewood stacked there. The maid came in, staring amazed at the fire.

"You can use the El like that? It's incredible, Lady Elesis." She said.

"Oh, please, just call me Elesis."

The maid giggled as if she had been suggested a taboo.

"As you wish, Elesis. I'll bring you something more fitting for the climate. The weather outside the tower is dreadful right now, so you may want to stay here in the meantime. If you need something just call for me," She said as she started to leave.

"Wait, you hadn't told me your name yet." Elesis yelled before the maid exited the room.

"Oh, I'm sorry, pardon my lack of manners. I'm Artemisa, head of the household maids."

She bowed, lifting the sides of her maid skirt and then left. Elesis walked around her temporary room. Nevermind it being bigger than her room at home, the room could easily fit her whole trailer. Not being able to just wait, she started checking every corner of the room. She finally discovered the TV. It was built into the wall on top of the fireplace. She searched through the channels; there were some channels she never saw before; until finally finding the weather report.

"Experts had confirmed that this blizzard will last for the rest of the week. Please take the appropriate measures."

"A week living in here? I think I can pull it off." Elesis thought to herself.

She wandered the room finding some buttons under the holo-window and started to randomly press them, switching the display to other different landscapes. She finally stopped when it changed to a street in a big city. Tall buildings on each side and a road below all covered in snow.

"That is the main street, it's been streamed live for more realism," The maid explained "Due to the current altitude we are in, the use of real windows is impossible, so in order to keep in contact with the rest of the city, we use holograms to display live streams from the outside."

"That sounds neat… I guess."

* * *

Eve stood before two big stone doors, her escort opened and held them for her. She entered to a big office, most of it was empty. The only furniture was a long black wood table and a wall filled with files. A fireplace with a sofa at its side and a large holo-window behind the desk. In front of the desk, sitting on a chair there was a young and short boy. Long, golden hair cascaded down his back. Dressed in white and yellow robes, the man turned around and as soon as he saw her, he jumped out the chair and hurried to her side. His pretty yellow eyes stared in happiness as he smiled at Eve. The golden gem-core on his forehead shining along the way.

"Sister! Where were you? You really worried me when they told me you were absent! How could they not leave to search for you?" The boy asked.

"Herbaon, calm down. I haven't told them to do so," Eve explained.

Herbaon held Eve's hand between his and smiled at her.

"I've arrived just now, I'm glad to see you again, dear sis."

And as he let her hands go he cleared his throat and started speaking in a completely different accent, totally opposite to the childish and enthusiastic one that he used to greet her.

"I'm sure you already know what I came for."

Eve walked around her desk and sat on the tall couched chair placed there. She spun on it to face the Holo-window and with a gesture from her hands the current display of a sea landscape changed to show the streets of Altera. It switched from one to another as if it were a surveillance camera rather than a window. It finally stopped when the school's dorms appeared, with the academy tower in the background.

"You came to seal our bow," Eve said, standing and placing a hand on the holo-display.

Herbaon nodded and walked around the table to stay next to her.

"I'm glad that you proposed this… ah… what was this called again?" He asked.

"Royal intermarriage."

"Right. Our tie would be a great move in strengthening the links between the Altera Nasod Empire and the Eysion Heavens Kingdom. Soon the two Nasod would be as close as one."

"And it'll easy the worry of the human races that fear the possibility of a dominant alliance between us. They think that this way there won't be discrepancies on the diplomatic relationships. They basically want me to keep the status quo," Eve added.

"Humans are strange creatures indeed. I wonder why they find significance on the promise of eternal love. They have demonstrated over years that such promise is incredibly fragile," Herbaon commented, sitting on the table.

Eve ran her finger over the holo-window and turned around to face her brother. Her eyes looked at the floor between them for a while and then she sighed and faced him again. He made a gesture to the Nasod on the door and he brought him a small red box. Herbaon took it and placed it on one hand, slowly opening it with the other, showing Eve a diamond ring.

A small ring of white gold set with diamonds. Eve took it carefully and placed it on her finger.

"I made my servants handle all the paperwork; they scheduled our wedding to the first day of spring," Herbaon said, returning the empty box to his chaperone.

Eve simply nodded, placing her hands together hiding the ring under her fingers. Herbaon stood there for a bit before nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Well, it's usual for this situation for the engaged pair to share a kiss, right sister?" He said.

"It is also usual not to call your fiancée 'sister'." Eve replied.

Herbaon giggled nervously and stopped when Eve suddenly placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned against him, connecting their lips in a short sparkling kiss. He stood there, eyes wide open; for a while before finally processing what had happened. He laughed nervously again earning a roll from Eve's eyes.

"Oh, before I forget to mention it, I already ordered my servants to bring here my gift for you. I hope you like it; it's a huge crate of the world's finest Elum wine. They will be bringing it this month," Herbaon said.

He straightened his robes and walked to the door.

"I'll be going back now, I'm sorry I can't stay longer here but there are some urgent matters waiting for me in Elision."

Eve didn't say anything; she just looked at him as she walked outside the room and sat on her chair, spinning it around to face the window again. Not a single student outside the dorms as the street was full of snow. She ran a finger for her lips.

"That was a bit disappointing," She thought to herself.

It wasn't like her first kiss. She did kiss someone else before, but now she didn't remembered who. It was a faint memory, from the time were Eve would pay no attention to it. Maybe it was disappointing because he was her little brother, and they barely see each other outside of official meetings. She doesn't know much about him either, only what she needs to know to keep their relationship as brothers of different nations. While she was lost in thoughts, the Nasod that accompanied Herbaon came in.

"Excuse me, your majesty, but we retrieved your car from the place it got trapped. We parked it on the base of the tower, but we thought you may need this," He said, placing her Elshard on her desk and leaving with a bow.

She almost forgot about it. She quickly checked it to see a row of lost calls from Aisha and some others. She was a bit hesitant about it but decided to call Aisha, just to inform her, she didn't want to tell her about what happened last night however.

"What the hell did you do last night?! Do you have an idea how worry I was about you?! It's a hellish blizzard out there and the last thing you told me is that you were going to see a delinquent and that you would come back before night!"

Eve separated from the Elshard earphone as a stream of screams came from the other side. Aisha looked more angry than worried. Eve though about a excuse to cover what happened last night and not calling her at the same time.

"I am sorry Aisha, but I couldn't find the time to call you. After I've finished my visit to Elesis I was called home… hum… Herbaon was here, so I had a lot of things to do."

After hearing this, the yelling stopped.

"He was there?" Aisha asked "And what did he told you?"

"Well, we basically sealed the bow and now we're waiting for the ceremony to happen," Eve explained.

For a brief moment Aisha didn't say anything. Eve started to feel anxious.

"And you're ok with it? I mean, I know you proposed it but…" Aisha said.

"Yeah, I proposed it, it wouldn't be logical if I proposed something that I didn't approve of, don't you think?" Eve replied.

"Yeah, of course. I was just asking because you proposed it long ago and… well I thought maybe some things changed on that time. But it's ok. If you like it, I'll like it."

There was another pause.

"I'll let you resume your work. I'm glad you're fine Eve." Aisha said and quickly hung up.

Eve stared into the holo-window; she reclined on her chair and let out a sigh, closing her eyes. A cloud of thoughts started forming on her mind. She also started feeling a headache from them. She leaned forward, pressing her fingers on her forehead.

"Do I like it?"

* * *

Aisha brutally punched her pillow while containing her pent up frustration, ending with said pillow flying across the room, hitting the window and pressing the lock, allowing the strong wind to push it open. It blew its gelid air into the room. She quickly rushed to shut it closed and once she did, she stayed there, staring into the distance at the tall tower where Eve was.

She bit her lip, angry for how she was unable to speak her mind just a moment ago. At that moment she heard someone knocking on the door. Seeing her room so disordered she decided to go and see them instead of letting them in. It turned out to be just Ara, who was still in her pajamas and carrying a big pillow with her.

"Aisha, good morning. I came to invite you to spend the day with us since we will be having a little party in our room. Rena, Rose and me," Ara said with a wide smile on her face.

The sight of such an innocent smile did help in cheer her up, so Aisha gave it a try and followed her.

"You look a bit down however. Are you feeling depressed because we can't go anywhere else?" Ara asked.

"It's not that. I've just received some really bad news." She replied.

Ara stopped with her smiled quickly changing to a worried face.

"What happened?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just exaggerating," Aisha said, nervously laughing.

She was not, but she was told not to tell anyone else about it. Eve made her promise that the first time she told her about the engagement. It was during last summer, before the school year started. Eve had been planning it for a long time. Aisha remembered when she told her about it, it felt a bit unrealistic for her, and since Eve didn't talk about it again, she imagined that she had dropped that idea. But hearing now that they were about to celebrate the wedding was disheartening. Aisha never opposed it, however she always felt that Eve was being a little naïve about it. She was putting her objectives first, instead of thinking how she felt. As Aisha thought of this, a memory played on her mind.

* * *

"You think I shouldn't?"

"I think you should consider it a bit more. It's a marriage after all."

The memory featured both of them on her room.

"You are thinking about marriage as if I were a human. For us Nasods marriage is a mere formality that we adopted from the human culture. There's no need to fit it to my feelings."

"So you're basically saying you don't mind marrying someone just because it would be beneficial for your people?"

"That is correct."

"You're going to regret it, really."

* * *

The memory banished as Ara pushed open her room's door letting a song played on their music player to come out. The two of them were lying on the beds, one was chatting on her Elshard while the other one was playing video games. She joined Rose, the one playing video games on her console. She was playing a first person shooter that was really popular among the students recently. She was being crushed by her since Aisha wasn't that much into games when someone else joined the party.

"Hey, we've arrived, and we brought something nice." A male voice said from the other side.

Rena jumped out of her bed and opened the door to be greeted by a snowball to her face. Raven, Chung, Ciel and Lu came in, carrying paper bags with them. They were covered in snow from the feet to the shoulders. Rena was yelling angrily at Raven when Raven saw Aisha in the room.

"What's the president's hound doing here?" He asked, causing her to stand and angrily look at him.

"Hey! Treat her well, she's our friend." Rena said, slapping Raven on his head.

He let out a grunt and placed the paper bag he was carrying on the desk. There were a lot of things inside ranging from snacks to drinks. Alcoholic drinks. Aisha felt a bit uncomfortable with Raven there, but still decided to stay. She didn't have any better plan after all. The good thing would be that she could keep an eye on him.

"Hey, Chung!" Ara waved seeing him trying to make his way to her.

The small room was already full enough when someone else knocked on the door.

"I hope I didn't get the wrong door again, I've already been slapped twice." The newcomer said.

"Hey, Elsword! Over here!" Chung yelled, seeing him on the door.

In a matter of minutes the room was full of laughter. As the day proceeded on, Raven proposed to uncork the drinks and get the real party started.

"You sure have some nerve bringing that here," Aisha said looking at him with frowned eyes.

"Oh please miss vice-president, cut us some slack, we're going to war this weekend!" Raven said.

"What!" Ara shouted.

"Oh, yeah… we're going to depart in an expedition with the army. It's not like we're going to fight but we'll be seeing the battlefield up close," Chung explained to her.

"But that's bad! People gets hurt when they go to wars!" Ara exclaimed, grabbing Chung by his cheeks and shaking him, forcing him to make a funny looking fish face.

"I know, I know! Don't worry Ara, we'll be fine. We can't avoid going after what we did after all, they're forcing us to go as a punishment. But I wanted to go anyway so…" Chung said, trying to free his face from her grip.

Ara pouted. Raven laughed as he scratched his head and looked back at Aisha.

"Look, I don't want to have a fight nor I want to cause any trouble, so unless you want to put up a fight, why don't we share a drink and enjoy? We're all adults here, aren't we?"

Aisha just let out a tired sigh as she unfolded her arms. She snatched the bottle from his hands and stared at it for a second.

"You're right, I don't want to have a fight over such a cheap looking drink," She said returning it to him.

"Hey! This drink is really good!" He defended, opening the bottle and retrieving some glasses to serve it.

* * *

 _ **So yeah, the plot is more centered now on those characters. I didn't want to make a whole AU centered on the academy so I hope you're still enjoying it! Let me know what you think!**_


	13. Blizzard

The wind howled as snow carpeted the streets. Only the bravest or the most foolish walked the sidewalks in this storm. However, inside the school dorms; the ambience was far from quiet. All the students were excited about the school being closed for the whole week. The bad weather didn't matter much for them, as the commodities of the dorms were more than enough to ensure a fun break.

Ara's room was no exception where, even at a really late hour of the night, it was full of people. Many enjoyed themselves, however, Aisha expended most of the night complaining about her situation with Eve while Ara was trying to defend the president the best she could. Chung was sat next to Ara and he was basically nodding at everything she would say, while trying to negate the vice-president's complaints. Raven and Rena where on her bed, busy with some cigarettes. Ciel and Lu were playing video games; from time to time Ciel would eye Raven and check if they had the stuff ready.

"All I'm asking for… is some consideration. I've been by her side since I've came to this school…" Aisha said spinning on her chair.

"I'm pretty sure she does take you into consideration. She really does rely on you most of the time." Ara said.

"Yeah, she's always doing that." Chung added, quite tired of the conversation topic at this point.

Aisha hiccupped, her face was red from the alcohol and her spinning finally made her fall of her chair. Luckily she landed on Ara's bed. Once she found herself on the soft mattress she yawned and crawled under the blankets. Ara sighed and moved next to her to cover her properly, making sure she wasn't in a bad shape.

"You know, I thought Eve already got over what happened last year…" Aisha said, trying to stay awake.

"What happened last year?" Chung asked curiously.

Aisha blinked and slowly sat up on the bed. She looked at both of them and after considering her choices for a moment, spoke.

"It's something I don't really like to talk about but… well, I might as well explain the situation to give you a better picture..."

Both Ara and Chung were now a bit intrigued by this. They sat around her on Ara's bed and she started her story after making sure nobody would listen to them.

"This happened last year, right after we went to summer break," Aisha began, "I had joined the student council and we were doing lots of work. Back then, I worked really, _really_ hard. I was motivated by her. It was incredible how hard she works, and the fact that no matter how much effort I put in, she would always be one step ahead. But I really enjoyed it, being with something I could relate with. Eve was the first person I could just hold a conversation with without feeling like talking to a rock."

"Yeah, yeah. You pretty much adored her, what else?"

Raven and company had stopped doing their things and gathered around Aisha. She was suddenly taken aback by the number of people but after seeing all their expecting faces she decided to go on.

"As I was saying, I really looked up to her. We started spending a lot of time together, and it would be even more time when I was finally promoted to vice-president. From that moment on the amount of work increased a lot but, at least, I was working directly next to her, and it was worth it."

She paused to check if they were still listening. Lu and Ciel were still distracted playing their games. Ciel had now a handmade cigar in his lips. She continued her story.

"We grew closer and closer. We became best friends and started hanging out even outside student council work. And as time passed on…"

She made a pause here.

"Come on Aisha; don't leave us hanging." Rena prompted.

Aisha took a deep breath.

"My feelings started to shift. I felt like our friendship… wasn't enough. I wanted more. I became greedy, coveting her affection. Back then Eve was a lot more… cold. But she let me touch her warm side and I just got addicted."

"Hey wait. You're basically saying that you wanted to… with her?" Raven asked, gesturing with his hands something that could be relatable with sex.

Aisha looked around; she cleared her throat and continued.

"One day we were hanging out as usual. We visited the mall for some window shopping. I asked her to get to the rooftop, giving her the excuse that I wanted to see the landscape. However what I wanted was to chat with her alone."

"And what did you talk about?" Everyone asked in unison.

* * *

" _Aisha, is there something troubling you? You been acting weird lately" Eve asked, the soft wind waving her hair._

" _Actually, I wanted to talk to you about it… I… Eve, I…" Aisha tried to speak out, not being able to find her words._

" _What's the matter? You can tell me." Eve asked._

" _Lately I've been feeling like, well, I want us to be more… close."_

" _Close?" Eve asked confused._

" _I mean. We already are close. What I want is us to… make a new step."_

" _Aisha," Eve said, tired of her confusing words "What are you trying to say?"_

" _Alright, I'm sorry, I'll say it bluntly," Aisha said, straightening herself "Eve, I want us to go out."_

 _Eve raised an eyebrow as she looked at her._

" _Aren't we going out right now? If you want to go to another place then…" Eve said._

" _No, I don't mean like this," Aisha interrupted._

 _She gathered some more strength to continue._

" _I want us to go out as a couple. To hang out and to show our feelings… and… k-kissing."_

 _Aisha waited a bit before looking away the streets and meeting Eve's eyes. They were as hard to read as ever._

" _What you are trying to say is that you want to engage in a romantic relationship with me?" Eve asked._

 _Aisha heart skipped a beat, she slowly nodded and waited for Eve to answer._

" _Aisha. I'm glad that you possess such warm feeling for my person… but I'm really sad to say that I can't reciprocate it."_

 _As if splashed with a bouquet of ice water, Aisha stood there totally frozen. She was afraid to let Eve speak further but wasn't able to say anything else._

" _My works as representative of Altera plus my duties with the school are far too demanding for me to allow me having a relationship like the one you desire." Eve said._

 _Aisha had heard enough, she gathered what little force she had left and ran away._

* * *

"Aw… the bad Nasod broke your heart" Rena said, cuddling Aisha's head in her chest.

"Hey! Stop it. I'm okay. It was a long time ago and both Eve and I have come to good terms about it." Aisha said, softly pushing her away.

Everyone resumed what they were doing, she felt glad she didn't have to say anything more so she curled up on the bed and silently fell asleep. Everyone else continued with their party. Elsword joined Ciel and Lu on their games while Raven and Rena where busy smoking. Rose was called by some friends so she went out and that left Chung and Ara mostly alone.

"Then you will be going on that expedition?" Ara said, breaking the ice.

"Ah… It's not as bad as you think. I guess we'll be spending most of our time peeling potatoes," Chung answered with a laugh.

"Well, let's hope you don't get hurt. But it's a shame that you're leaving this same week. I mean: schools' out and all that so we could have done something."

"If it weren't for the huge blizzard."

Chung stood and looked through the window. The snow stopped falling and now it was being blown all over the place by the strong wind. He saw a trash can that was being dragged around by the wind. It bounced along its way until finally colliding with a street lamp, spilling its contents on the snow. He sighed and sat next to her. They were chatting again when suddenly the lights went out.

"Ciel! What happened? I was about to get a new record!" Lu shouted in the dark.

The room was illuminated again when Raven switched on the flashlight on his Elshard.

"Looks like a blackout," He said, walking over the window and checking the windows of the buildings at sight. Every building inside the school grounds had its lights out.

"The wind may have knocked out the grid or something," Rena added, switching on her own Elshard's flashlight.

She open a drawer and searched on it until finally taking out an aromatic candle that she lit before turning off the flashlight. She placed some more around the room until it was bright enough to see.

"And what do we do now?" Raven asked.

"Don't worry, I have this covered," Lu answered; pulling out a portable gaming console and resuming gaming, ignoring everyone else.

"Alright, someone who's not an idiot?" Raven asked, this time rather annoyed.

"Dude, all this ruckus over a blackout…" Aisha said, getting out of bed "I'll go check the other people; you just stay here and try not to get scared of the boogeyman or something…"

Aisha went outside, instead of using her Elshard to light out the way, she murmured something as she traced her hand in a circle in front of her. A glowing ball materialized, lighting up the way for her. The whole dorm quieted down when the lights went out, but most students did as they do and lighted up their rooms with candles or their shards.

"I think we should go back to our dorm," Elsword suggested.

But as he said that, a deafening sound startled all of them. A powerful thunder echoed through the dorms, marking the start of a storm. Rain started hitting the windows. The few initial drops became a downpour quite fast.

"Doesn't seem like a good idea right now," Ara said.

"We're going back to Lu's room." Ciel said, standing up holding the little girl's hand.

Aisha came back as they left the room.

"Everyone else is ok. Well, it can't be helped; I'll be going back to my room. I suggest you go to sleep as well guys," She said before leaving the room again.

"Alright, I'll get some blankets; you're not going out in this weather. Boys go there, girls here," Rena said, pointing at Ara's empty bed and her own bed respectively.

Elsword, Raven and Chung had some trouble with sleeping in the same bed. While they discussed about it, Rena and Ara were already snoring on the other bed.

* * *

Elesis was defeated again. She left the game controller on the table as she sighed.

"Damn it, you're too good at this."

Artemisa set down her controller as well.

"The mistress loves to play this game so I have experience," She answered, with a complacent smile on her face.

The sound of thunder echoed in the tower. However instead of the mighty crackling, it sounded more like a really far rumble. The doorbell sounded and the Nasod maid shifted her attention for a moment. She looked down, as if she were thinking on something.

"Hmm… how weird, we weren't expecting any guest now…" She said as she left the room, heading towards the front door.

Elesis felt a bad vibe about it, so she followed her. Artemisa opened the door to found two tall figures standing there, wearing brown long coats and soaked from tip to toe.

"Greetings, I'm agent Jack from the mafia police, and this is Lieutenant Connors. We came to discuss something with the lady standing behind you," He said pointing at Elesis.

The maid looked at the two of them confused.

"I am sorry, but you need to request an audience if you are coming here, even if you're the police." She answered.

"It's alright, let them in," A voice said from behind.

Artemisa and Elesis looked back to see Eve descending the stairs. The maid obeyed her master and let them in, leading them into a small visiting room on the first floor. It was a chamber with only a pair of long sofas and a small table in between. Both police officers sat on one sofa while Elesis occupied the other one with Eve at her side.

"So, what's this all about?" Elesis asked once everyone was settled.

"We hoped to get some answers from you. I'm sure you hadn't forgotten the incident that ended with two of your friends in jail not so long ago," The policeman started to say.

"What does that have to do with me?" She asked impatiently.

"We've been also investigating a recent robbery of a big Elum shipment. I'm sorry to say that we found some evidence linking those two events," He explained.

"Really? Let me see it," Elesis said.

"We can't, as the evidence are the witnesses that ensure that you were in the crime scene not once but two." Jack added.

"Then you have nothing, the word of some random guy saying that I was there has no value at all," Elesis said, standing up and making her way to the door.

"Elesis," Eve called "What they aren't telling you is that they been following you since the incident they mentioned."

She froze in place, slowly turning to face the two officers and them Eve.

"These guys were following me… and you knew it and didn't said anything to me?" She protested.

"I didn't mentioned it because they asked me not to do it. However, given the situation, I thought this should be a good time to bring the circumstances to light."

She sat back, this time a bit farther away from Eve. Faced the two officers and waited for they to speak.

"What do you have to say?" Jack asked.

"About what? If you don't want to show me the evidence then you two are wasting your time coming here." She answered.

This wasn't the first time she spoke with police officers. She was already prepared for their tricks, they would expect her to say something she shouldn't know, but she wasn't going to fall to their predictable tricks.

"Are you familiar with the abandoned warehouse on the old industrial district? We HAVE seen you there the very same day our investigation ended. What were you doing there?" Jack asked, getting a notebook from his coat.

"I saw the cops sniffing around the place and I got curious about it so I wanted to see what it was all about." Elesis answered.

"You invaded private property that was under police investigation just to sate your curiosity?" He asked.

"That shed barely passes as property. And you just said it's abandoned right?" She replied.

Jack was about to say something when he was cut by Eve.

"That property you're speaking about belonged to a manufacturer that moved to the outside when the industrial laws were modified. Now it is a property of the government, and access to it is not forbidden, although its ill-advised due to its ruined state." She explained.

Jack groaned as he shifted through his notes. He stopped on one page of his notebook and questioned Elesis again.

"There's also evidence that you were there before. The police found your DNA on some blood that was on the warehouse grounds."

Elesis looked at Eve before answering; she wasn't sure on how to go about this.

"Yeah, I had a bit of an argument with some punks from Technical High, there."

"And what was this argument about?"

"Oh you know, those idiots thought they could do as they please in our territory so we just smacked them," Elesis answered, throwing her arms over the sofa's backrest.

"Are you sure it wasn't because both of you intended to get your hands on the wine?" He asked.

Elesis shrugged, Eve spoke on her stead again.

"If I may add, I know of this self-proclaimed gangs territorial disputes. It's not the first time they've met in this kind of incident. However I can ensure you that these actions were severely punished by school's regulations on both sides, and at the same time I wish to add that school gangs aren't mafia police responsibility."

Jack let out a tired sigh. This time it was his partner: Lieutenant Connor's, turn to speak.

"Lady Eve, I can't help but express my concern over your sudden association with this person. We have reasons to believe she's linked to dangerous activities."

"I am not siding with her. I'm merely pointing out the truth. I too wish for this matter to get resolved as quickly as possible." Eve stated.

Jack was about to say something, but was cut again by Eve standing up.

"As my maid said, you are required to request an audience to be here or, failing that; a judicial order for the appropriate purpose. I'm sorry to say this is not a good time for this, so I request your leave."

Although Jack was going to protest, Connors placed a hand on his shoulder, gesturing him to drop it. They were seen out by Artemisa. Elesis waited there either for her return of for Eve to say something. Since neither of those was happening she said something.

"Thanks for helping me there"

"I wasn't helping you, I know you didn't steal anything, as I said: I was just pointing out the truth."

Eve made her way out of the room, but she stopped on the door to look back at Elesis.

"Are you enjoying your stay here?"

"Leaving the cops aside, yeah. Your maid is good company." Elesis answered, walking to her side.

"I'm glad you two get along. I'll be on my office for the rest of the night so call me if you need something."

Elesis felt something wrong with her. She hadn't realized before because of the police officers but there was a heavy presence about Eve. She looked sad.

"Hey… Are you alright?" Elesis asked.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine."

"That's good, because we have something to talk about," Elesis said, dragging Eve by her arm.

She ignored her protest as she went upstairs with her on toll trying to get to her office. She expected it to be marked somehow but finally desisted and asked her to go there. Once there, Elesis make sure nobody else was around.

"I haven't forgot about the lecture I was going to give you about passing out in the snow, but now I also want to know: Why the hell didn't you warned me that I was under surveillance?" Elesis said, palming the desk.

"I did mention that the police followed you," Eve replied.

"Yeah but that's not the same as having two guys specifically posted on my ass!" Elesis complained.

"I'm sorry but I didn't think you could be in trouble for this reason."

"Of course you didn't."

"But you don't have anything to hide from them right?" Eve asked, looking her in the eyes.

Elesis doubted for a second.

"I still don't want people spying on me! You should have told me about that earlier."

"I'll do it next time, then" Eve answered.

Elesis sighed and walked around the room for a while before finally facing Eve again.

"And what about passing out in the snow? I didn't say anything back then because you were looking so sad about it while you were still sick but now I wanna know why'd you do something so stupid?" Elesis asked.

"I wasn't sad." Eve answered.

"Huh? You were staring at me with puppy eyes. How is that not being sad?" Elesis asked in confusion.

"I was imitating a human gesture humans tend to show when they're feeling overly bad. I've noticed that when they do that they usually increase their chances of getting away. What I did was simply convince you to drop it since there wasn't anything useful to me in that conversation."

Elesis palmed the table again with strength enough to make some of the papers and pen on top bounce and fall, surprising Eve in the process.

"You tricked me? How dare you? Don't even answer, I'm done. I'm leaving," Elesis said, making her way to the door.

She nearly stumbled with Artemisa, who was waiting at the other side of the door. Elesis glared at her but immediately softened her expression when he saw her afraid face.

"I'll be leaving now, sorry for troubling you."

She made her way to the front door, but the maid ran behind her, calling her name.

"Elesis! Elesis please, it's already too late at night and there's horrible weather outside. Stay here at least for tonight, the mistress would not mind it."

"I'm sorry but I have to leave, I think she would appreciate that I don't waste her time anymore," Elesis said, with a foot already outside.

"Let me apologize in her stead. I'm sure she wasn't pretending to be mean to you. It's just that she's being under a lot of pressure recently."

Elesis walked back to face the maid, she placed her hand on her shoulder.

"You're a good girl, Arte; I hope we meet again," She said, rubbing her hair until it was all messed up.

Elesis went out and headed for the tower lower level. The feeling of Artemisa's hair and skin was a lot different than with Eve. It was more like silicon or plastic rather than skin and flesh. She took a look at the huge mansion before entering the elevator and she saw Eve watching her at the door. She did nothing to stop her; she was just there, watching.

After she reached the bottom of the tower and stepped outside, the strong rain immediately soaked her. She wondered if it was a really good idea to leave right now, but she wasn't willing to go back now. After thinking about it, she realized her only two options where either going to the school dorms and freeloading some of her friend's room or walk to home. She didn't wanted to see anyone right now, so she chose to walk the really long way home under the raging storm.

There wasn't a single car to be seen, she didn't have her Elshard with her to call for a Taxi either. The strong wind swayed her around, chilling her bones to the core. She looked around, looking for some opened bar or any other kind of place where she could warm up, but as expected everything was close, it would be madness to open in a day like this anyway. She hid under a near building entrance. The storm didn't looked like it would stop anytime soon, and as she was about to give up and go back to the tower when she saw a car driving on her direction. It stopped in front of her, the copilot window slid down and she saw Artemisa driving.

"Hop in" She said.

She didn't gave it much thought and got in, it was better than standing there in the rain.

"Are you taking me back?" Elesis asked.

"Eve told me to take you where you would like to be."

"Oh, can you take me home then?"

The maid nodded. She drove slowly and cautiously due to the rain hindering her vision. Luckily the rain had also melted most of the snow allowing the car to get to the trailer park without running into blocked roads. Once they were in front of her house, Artemisa tried to persuade her about remaining in the manor, but Elesis refused again and stepped out the car. She waved at her as she drove back to the tower.

Her trailer was still out of energy. She bet they wouldn't fix the grid before the storm ends. It was too dark to see anything, so she walked slowly into her bedroom and grabbed the glass ball she used as a heater. Using her El energy she made a tiny fireball appear inside the glass, and used it to check her house. Everything was as she left it, she was glad the police didn't come here. She also saw a memo she left on the fridge. She squinted to see what it reads:

"See the mafia guy at work in two days"

She almost had forgotten about that. But the workplace was closed so she would have to think about something else. She locked the front door, changed into her pajamas and got into her bed. She let the fireball fade away and after some yawning she got asleep.

* * *

"I beg you, my lady, go to sleep already."

Eve was in her office, a lot of holographic displays flooded her desk as she quickly typed with both hands on different keyboards.

"I have work to do. But you've already finished yours for today, so you can go to sleep already."

The maid walked around the desk and closed all the displays with a wave of her hand earning a bothered look from Eve.

"I refuse to go to bed while my mistress is like this. Now, if you allow me to take you to your room…"

Eve let out a sight. She was truly tired, but she wasn't feeling like sleeping. She knew that with all that happened today she would not be able to sleep properly. But even knowing that, she decided to humor her maid and followed her into her room.

Eve's room was a lot bigger than the one used for guests. The bed was placed on the center of the room and was shaped as a circle. Tall light pink blinds surrounded it, hung high on a canopy. There was a large dresser that occupied one entire wall, full of doors and a small space to dress up. A desk with nothing on it was placed next to the window. In front of the bed there was a big fireplace that was just lit by her maid. And a small makeup table on the remaining free wall. The floor shined when they stepped on it, rising a hologram from the ground that displayed a bunch of options.

"Sleep mode," The maid said.

The holograms buried themselves back and the room lighting softened. The shadows danced under the fireplace light. Artemisa prepared Eve's blankets and waited for her to get in bed to clothe her.

"Sweet dreams, my lady," the maid said, stepping back.

Eve answered with a nod and the same wish. When the maid was out, the light turned off, leaving the fire on the fireplace as the only light source.

* * *

Elesis stood in front of the mall where her workplace was. It was still closed. The debris that fell from the broken glass was cleaned and a big tarp was placed on the hole to prevent water and snow to enter the building. All the lights were out and not even one of the different business settled there were open that day.

The blizzard had quieted down enough for people to go out again. Even if most business were still closed, people wanted to play in the snow. Elesis managed to enter her workplace thanks to a spare key the manager gave her just in case. She found her Elshard on her drawer and checked it for a while as she waited in the mall entrance.

After one hour of waiting, she finally saw the one she was waiting for. She walked in front of him and waved.

"Hey! You came today as you said," She said with a wide smile on her face.

"I see your place is closed, I wasn't really expecting to see you today," He answered.

He was the same man she meet some days ago: Bill.

"Yeah, I didn't have to come here today but I thought it wouldn't be ok to miss our appointment. Anyway, since this place is closed, why don't we go and grab a drink somewhere?" Elesis asked.

"Alright, I have a free day today."

She walked next to him and grabbed him by the arm. They walked to a bar he chose. It was a small place with very few people. Most of them looked like criminals, and even the barista was a weird person, with scars all over his face. He didn't ask them what they wanted and instead just gave then two glasses of a dark yellow liquid.

"This is the only thing they serve here: Feita Beer," He said, emptying half his mug in one go.

Elesis took a sip. It was a bit disgusting but it wasn't the worst alcohol she had so she just drank it without so much of a word.

"So, how are you?" She asked, glancing over him.

"Well, I've been doing well. Things at work are better since I'm no longer taking care of that pig."

"Oh, did you get ascended? Congratulations. What's your new job about?" Elesis said, feigning admiration.

"You could say that now I only do what the big boss asks me." He said and immediately after emptying his mug.

"So are you, like, his right hand?" Elesis asked.

"Well, no. There are a bunch of guys over me, but now I'm no one else's errand boy."

He putted down his mug, hitting the bar with strength enough for the barman to hear it, prompting him to refill it without a word.

"And what kind of exciting jobs are you doing now?" Elesis asked, poking him with the elbow.

Bill emptied the mug again, in one go this time. He closed his eyes as the alcohol burned his way down.

"I shouldn't be telling you…" He said.

Elesis clicked her tongue. She pushed the mug away and faced him.

"What about I tell you a big secret and you tell me about it? That way we'll be even." She asked.

Such a thing wouldn't work on a normal criminal, but this one had some more beer than he should for that conversation.

"Alright, but don't expect me to tell you much, I shouldn't do it to begin with… You go first."

Elesis thought about what to tell him. He obviously didn't wanted to tell anything real but at the same time she wanted to come up with something convincing.

"I… keep my work in that night club a secret from my family." She said, doing her best to feign being ashamed.

"Oh well, actually I could already guess that," He answered laughing.

"Oh, come on! Now it's your turn." She said, pretending to be mad.

"Ok… ok… Well, right now we are in the middle of planning… a robbery" He said, glancing over his shoulders.

"Oh. Are you robbing a bank?" Elesis asked, leaning towards him and lowering her voice.

"A bank? Hell no, even better. We heard that there's a HUGE cargo of that liquid gold called Elum coming to town in the next week." He said, starting to sound excited about it.

"Elum? That wine that is super expensive?" Elesis asked pretending to not know about it.

"Super expensive is not enough to describe it. Since the last shipment of it that arrived in town disappeared, the prices skyrocketed. And this Elum is not going to reach the markets; I heard it's being delivered directly on the big tower. I guess one of these fat-ass Nasod nobles bought it overseas."

"But if that's true, I'm sure they would not allow it to get stolen…" Elesis said, straightening up and moving her mug, shaking the remaining beer.

"Well that's the good part… We aren't stealing it," Bill started to say, catching Elesis attention.

Elesis was pushed away; she flew over the bar and hit the ground. She was trying to stand up when she heard a loud noise mixed with shattering glass. She looked up to see Bill jumping over the bar as well, hiding next to her. He pulled out a big revolver from his coat and immediately stood, firing at the windows. Elesis could finally see what was going on. A group of four men was standing next to the bar showcase, they had guns with them, all drawn and pointing at Bill. As soon as he stood up, they fired. He covered himself under the bar and returned the fire, forcing them to hide as well.

"Those sons of a bitch are from the "Black Falcons". I'm sorry for getting you into this, I didn't expected them to appear today here," He said while ducking again to reload his gun.

He stood again, firing against the attackers. They got into cover in just in time. Bill saw that he wasn't going anywhere like this. His revolver has only eight bullets while his enemies were using automatic weapons; so he'll have to think of something. Jumping over the bar and kicking a table to create a new cover, he shot wildly at the enemy, he however make sure a bullet remained in the chamber. He stopped firing, the enemy got out of cover, feeling safe as they thought he was out of bullets. His revolved roared as a bullet fired from it impacted on one of the aggressors arm. It tore a big hole in it, breaking the bone along its way and forcing him to drop the weapon. The injured one jumped into cover to not be seen again while the other three placed themselves on better positions.

Elesis was searching for a way out when she spotted the door that leaded into the kitchen. It was right next to the bar so she could crawl over it without a problem. As she drew nearer, she hear a door being kicked open. She peeked over the bar to see a man coming out of the bathroom, he drew a weapon from his jacket, a short and small revolver. Bill was so focused on the other three that he didn't saw the other one.

A shot from the small revolver connected with Bill's shoulder. He screamed in pain as he turned, pointing his gun at the new contender, but a second shot that landed on his hand disarmed him. He stood and charged at the man, but the other three jumped out of cover, their weapons spitting metal.

Elesis watched as Bill was pierced bullet by bullet. His body danced in pain as each shot teared his skin. She hid back on her spot. Few shots after she heard what he guessed it was the sound of Bill's body hitting the ground.

"Hey, wasn't there a girl with him? Search for her," One of them said.

"Not even in hell" Elesis thought to herself as she darted from her hid spot to the kitchen door.

One of the men saw her in time to block her way. He lunged at her with his hands, but Elesis nimbly evaded being caught by him and kicked him away. The man gave a few steps back, looking confused; while drawing his gun again. Elesis looked around, it was reckless but she had to try it. She pointed her hands against him. The four of them looked at her bewildered.

Suddenly, a fireball formed on her hands. They tried to shoot at her but it was already too late. Taking advantage of the surprise, Elesis released the fireball. It flew over the guy in front of her, engulfing him inside its fire and blowing up. The shockwave sent everyone to the ground. The bottles stored on the selves were also knocked down, spilling their flammable alcohol on the ground. The fire extended to the alcohol first and then to the whole place. In a matter of seconds the bar was like a blazing hell. Elesis took this chance to go through the kitchen door and head out. She pushed away the cooker, who was desperately trying to put the fire out and threw herself at the emergency exit.

The emergency exit opened onto an alley. She ran across it, trying to get as far as possible. Looking back she saw the three remaining men came out of the bar's kitchen as well. They pointed at her and started running, guns drawn. She turned on the first corner she found and saw the end of the alley being suddenly blocked by a police car. A group of police officers came out of it, using the car as cover. They carried heavy assault weapons, when they saw Elesis they made her a sign to move out of the way. Elesis didn't think twice and threw herself behind a trash container. The police fired its guns at the three shooters that were just turning the corner as well. From her spot Elesis could only see the blue lasers the police were shooting at the three criminals.

It didn't take long for it to end, she carefully stepped out of the cover, afraid of being shot as well, but to her surprise the police had lowered their weapons, and two tall figures stood in front of them.

"My, my… what a coincidence to find you here of all places!"

Officer Jack and Lieutenant Connors stood between Elesis and the other policemen there. They slowly walked over her, Lieutenant Connors drew her handcuffs.

"This is just for procedure, please cooperate," She demanded as she tied Elesis hands.


	14. Convenient

It was the worst place for Elesis to be: locked in one of the police's interrogation rooms. She sat in a chair facing a mirror that she knew was one-sided, waiting until Lieutenant Connors arrived.

"After the exchange we had at Lady Eve's estate, I determined you're not willing to speak with my colleague."

Elesis didn't say anything, like last time she just waited for them to ask the questions.

"This time you were involved in a gun fight between two rival gangs. Why?"

"I was having a drink there when all of that happen," She said, crossing her arms and leaning back the chair.

Connors placed her hand on the table and a holographic display came out of it, it shifted through a block of text, stopping at five photos. Connors asked if she knew the persons on them. Elesis looked at them one by one. They were card-sized photos depicting a series of mugshots of the five others involved in the shooting. She easily recognized Bill among them. She wondered what to say now. She did know Bill, but she was unsure if the police would know about it, lying to them here could be bad.

"I know him. Calls himself Bill," She said pointing at Bill's photo, "I met him in my workplace. The other ones are the guys who started the shooting, but I don't know them."

"A witness claimed that you were seen entering the bar with that man. Why were you with him?" Connors asked, deactivating the hologram.

"I went to my workplace to retrieve my Elshard that I left there the other day when we were told to evacuate due to the weather causing damage to the mall. I ran into him and he asked me out for some drinks." She explained.

"Were you friends with him?"

"No. It was a… you know… I can't turn down a potential client."

"You said you met him before at your workplace, was he different now? Any sign of worry or paranoia," Connors asked.

"No, he was actually happy, saying he got promoted. But he didn't want to speak about his job further, and I know when it's wrong to stick your nose into other's business. You learn a few things working where I do." Elesis stated.

Connors brought up another holo-display. This time it was facing away from Elesis, who could only see the back of it and unlike other displays it wasn't see through, this one had a police banner on it and a solid blue color keeping whatever it was on the other side of it out of her sight. After a while she turned the holo with a gesture of her hand. Elesis saw two drawings in it. One that she knew: A black horse head; and another one she had never seen before: the letter "F" with some really weird writing.

"Do you recognize any of these images?" Connors asked.

Elesis looked at the F for a long time trying to recall whether she had seen it elsewhere though it was far less distinct from the black horse.

"Huh… Bill had a tattoo that looked like that one. I asked him if he liked horses but he said it was for his work. The other one I think I never saw it before," Elesis said.

Connor turned the display off.

"These symbols represent the two biggest mafia gangs that operate in this town: The Black Horses and The Black Falcons. The first ones are a group that came from Belder, attracted by the chance of smuggling goods into here. The other ones came from far oriental lands, and since they arrived they stirred lot of trouble, not only with us: the police; but also with the other gangs."

Elesis listened in silence, wondering why she would tell her all of that.

"I'll give you some advice. If you're hiding something from us, we have ways of extracting that knowledge; but if what you're hiding has something to do with those gangs… I strongly recommend you come clean before your life is put on the line. Those criminals are no joke, the little fight you had with that other academy students is nothing compared to what the mafia is capable of."

Connors ended her lecture and stood, gesturing Elesis to follow her. Connors lead her to a room where a few familiar faces were waiting for her: Raven and her brother Elsword.

"Hey, what did you do this time?" Raven asked.

"Nothing, this time I was a victim," Elesis said with a chuckle and looked at Elsword "…Hey, little bro."

Elsword stood and walked up to her. He examined her up and down.

"Hey, sis, I see you're looking good. The police called saying you were in a shootout."

"Don't worry, I managed to escape safe and sound," She said.

Elsword nodded and looked at the Nasod policewoman accompanying her. Connors answered with a nod and left them alone.

"I'll drive you home," Raven said, heading out.

* * *

Aisha was awakened by the sound of someone knocking on her door. She slowly sat on her bed and looked around, her room was a bit of a mess: clothes lying on the ground, half-eaten snacks on the table and an unsettling smell of mustiness due to the room being completely sealed for some time. She tried her best to stand up without stumbling back into bed. She had spent last night with Ara and company again, it was becoming quite the habit. She did not remember why she felt so bad however. Maybe she drank some alcohol or was just the exhaustion for going to bed really late.

They knocked again at the door and she hurried to open it. She immediately straightened up after seeing her morning guest.

"E-Eve!" She stuttered "What are you doing here? And at this hour?"

The president didn't answer, she instead pointed at the clock hung on the hallway, it was midday already. She struggled to find the words to excuse herself but failed to said anything.

"Can I come in?" Eve asked.

"My room is not in the best shape right now…" Aisha admitted in embarrassment.

Eve shook her head and asked again, Aisha let her in but she rushed over the room to throw all the clothes lying on the floor into the drawer and remove the half-eaten food. Eve took a seat on Aisha's bed and waited for her to finish with her sudden cleaning.

"You don't need to do that for me, Aisha" Eve said, seeing Aisha's nervous look while she scanned the room for any other unsightly thing.

"I'm sorry, I don't usually have the room like this, I promise, it's just that with the school closed and the bad weather… well," Aisha stopped, realizing that she didn't have any good excuse. Eve waited until she finished speaking to formulate her request.

"Aisha, may I stay here until the school is open again?"

Aisha looked at her confused. It wasn't the first time Eve would stay at her place, but that would be usually only for one night and only because they were hanging out until really late. But there was still five days until the weather alert would be lifted and the school could resume its activities.

"Well, of course. You're always welcome, but I thought you would be spending this week in your house."

Aisha was hoping for some kind of explanation but instead Eve just took off her shoes and got comfortable on top of her bed.

"So, what were you going to do today?"

"Huh…" Aisha struggled to find an excuse that didn't involve sleeping until night.

While she tried to come up with something, Eve left the bed and searched through the room. She went straight for a shelf full of books. She looked at them, running her finger as she read the titles in their molds. They were all books about magic, ranging from spell compilations to more complicated formulas. Eve stopped at the right most one and picked it. She opened it and quickly rushed through its pages.

"You have the newest addition. Have you mastered it already?" Eve asked.

"Unfortunately no, that one is a bit more complicated than I expected… it's about elven magic and… well, let say that elves are a bit of a pain when it comes down to spells." She said looking over Eve's shoulder.

Eve stopped at a page where a drawing of an elf lady using magic to grow a little tree was featured. She placed the book on the desk and tried chanting the spell. To no surprise nothing happened.

"Elves write their spellbooks in a weird way. They say it's to prevent their magic to fall on the wrong hands. But why would they even write books in the first place if they are afraid of someone reading them?" Aisha wondered as she placed a finger on the page to review the spell.

She chanted it herself. It sounded different of what Eve said. As she was chanting it a tiny green orb materialized in front of her. She held it between her hands and walked over the flowerpots laid outside the window. She released the green orb and it buried itself in the dirt. As soon as it did, the flowers suddenly sprouted, revealing big, colorful petals.

"But to tell the truth, I'm not really interested in elven magic…" She said, closing the book and placing it back in place.

The Nasod wandered the room again, looking for something to spend time on. The room felt awkward, usually they would have an easy time deciding what to do in these kinds of situations. However this time there was a different and obvious thing in both their heads.

"Eve… about what you told me the other day when you called…" Aisha started to say.

Eve stopped roaming the room and now directed her attention to Aisha.

"Is it true?" She asked.

"It is." Eve answered.

Aisha wanted to say something more, but she wasn't sure if she should. She felt like poking her nose in that matter was something uncalled for. Silence struck the room again, it was getting more and more uncomfortable until Eve finally broke that silence.

"To be frank, I'm feeling a bit… sad right now. I actually came all the way here because I thought we could do that…" She said, averting her eyes.

"What? Now?"

"If we use my keys we can get in the school. There won't be anyone there who could hear or interrupt us. What do you say?" Eve asked, showing her a keychain with a bunch of keys clinging to it.

Aisha looked outside. It was freezing out there. Getting to school would be a tremendous pain and she wasn't exactly in the mood to go out after waking up just moments ago.

"Do we have to?" Aisha groaned, looking back at the president. Yet she was caught off-guard by the look Eve gave to her. It was subtle, but, for whatever reason, she really wanted to go.

"Ugh… Alright, lets go then." Aisha said.

* * *

"Why are you driving me here, Raven?" Elesis asked as the car they were in passed through the school grounds' walls.

"I've thought that since school is over and all of that it would be ok if you stayed here. Especially considering that you've been through some weird events recently." He said, looking for an empty parking lot.

"Hey, why are the school lights on?" Elsword asked, looking through the window.

Although it was hard to see, the lights of one of the P. E. classrooms were lit. Focusing at the building in the distance they could also see several lights from the connecting corridors were on as well.

"I don't know, maybe someone snuck in, I highly doubt a teacher would be there today," Raven said.

"Hey, why don't we take a look? It could be interesting," Elesis suggested.

"Whatever, just drop me off at the dorms first," Elsword replied rolling his eyes.

They left Elsword in front of the dorms and walked to the school. The front doors where locked, however they spotted one of the side entrances open. After accessing the hallways from there, the two of them heard a muffled noise somewhere.

"What could that be?" Raven wondered.

"A ghost, maybe," Elesis joked.

They searched for the source, as they drew near the sound started to change from simple noise into a melody. It sounded as if someone were singing with someone else playing something. Their investigation took them to the gym entrance; there the sound was much clearer, and louder. It was a singing, as they thought, and someone else was playing an electric guitar. They peeked over the door's windows to see two figures on the other end of the gym, on an elevated platform that was usually used to hold ceremonies.

"Wait a moment, I've heard this before, is that mysterious band that always appears during school festival," Raven said placing his hand over his eyes as if it could make him see better.

"Oh, yeah, what was their name again?" Elesis asked.

They weren't wearing their usual band's costume but a normal school's uniform, however they did wear their mask. Elesis tried to open the door but it was locked. She checked the second of the double door but the noise she made on trying to open it alerted the two persons on the stage. Both of them looked at the door and immediately after spotting the Elesis and Raven, they ran away.

"Oh no, I want to speak to them! To the other entrance, quick!" Elesis said, pushing Raven in front of her.

"Can I ask why?" Raven groaned, barely managing to follow her.

"I want to know who they are! I bet they would like to join us."

But the two musicians weren't really interested in meeting their fans. After abandoning the stage the singer headed for the unlocked door.

"Wait, they must be heading that way right now!" The guitarist said.

"What do we do then?" The singer asked in a hurry.

The guitarist grabbed her by the arm and pointed to another door. This one lead into the storage room, where items that ranged from balls and hockey sticks were mixed with the instruments from the music club and a lot more of random things. Just as they get in there, they heard the door outside being opened, meaning that Elesis and Raven made it in.

"We shouldn't have come here… What do we do now?" The singer asked, removing her mask.

"Calm down Aisha… Can you teleport the two of us out of here?" The guitarist asked, taking off her own mask as well.

"I can easily teleport myself… but for two people I would need a more complex spell, not to mention that it's a bit risky, Eve." Aisha said.

She waved her hand in the air, creating a flash of light from which a wand emerged. It was a long white stick topped with a star inside a circle with a pair of white wings at each side.

"They could only have gone into the storage room."

They heard the two of them and now Aisha was in a panic, again. Eve calmed her and dragged her again, deeper in the storage. They had to make their way over a tall pile of old bikes stashed there for the already dissolved cycling club; and duck under a pair of dusty pianos that the music club may have already forgot they had. They reached the farthest wall of the room, filled with small cabinets. Between a big empty crate that would be used to store balls caught her attention. Eve opened it and checked the insides.

"Lets hide in here."

"I don't think we fit in there," Aisha said.

However the sound of the storage room opening was enough for Eve to get in, pulling Aisha with her and quickly close the top of the crate.

The box was already small for one person. Having two people inside it felt like being canned. They tried to position in the best way while avoiding to make any sound. The result was Eve lying on her back with Aisha on top. Their leg intertwined and their faces just a millimeter away. Luckily there wasn't any light inside the box which relieved Aisha since she would find it hard to stare at Eve for so long.

Aisha could feel the warm breath of her president tickling her face. The soft scent of her hair mixed in caused Aisha's head to get dizzy. Her heart was pounding like crazy, not only for the risky situation they were in but also for the little to none space that separated her from Eve.

"They went in here, I'm sure," one of their pursuers called after the other. They had arrived. Aisha hoped for them to leave as soon as possible.

"I don't see them"

Her neck was getting tired. It was hard to breathe and the pounding on her chest wasn't helping. She let her head rest over Eve's shoulder. Her silky hair tickled her in the nose. She gulped, the warmth from their contact started to build up. She wondered if Eve could feel how her heart was pounding; it was as if it were trying to escape from her chest.

A loud crash filled the room.

"Shit! I cut myself with something over here. Elesis, this is a waste of time, they must have fled through a window or something."

"Alright… alright. Let's get back to the dorms then. Its shame though."

The sounds of steps followed by the bang of a door were the last thing they heard before they came out the box. Both sighing in relief.

"I thought they were going to find us…" Aisha said, walking over the door to take a peek outside. She found no one and she gestured over Eve to follow her outside.

They walked their way back to the dorms still cautious of being seen. Luckily the cold had driven away most students as the sun was already setting. The hallways were empty save for the occasional student on his way for a snack. Finally, in the safety of Aisha's room; they breathed a sigh of relief once more.

"That was dangerous, I thought we were done for," Aisha said, quickly disposing of her mask by throwing it inside the drawer.

"We didn't plan it well enough, that's why," Eve stated, properly folding hers and making it disappear in a stream of data.

She walked over the window, her eyes rested on the tall school tower. Her face as hard to read as ever, yet Aisha was able to pick a faded melancholy on it.

"It's something wrong?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Eve replied.

"Today you're quite… off. You're acting like if something bad is going to happen."

Eve looked through the window again. After a while she returned her gaze to Aisha who was still looking at her with a worried face. She reached for a chair and sat, resting her elbows on her knees and letting her head hang off her shoulders.

"It's not something bad… I think it's not. But I don't know if it will be good."

Aisha walked over her, kneeling to look her in the eyes.

"What is it?" She asked.

Eve took a deep breath before continuing.

"When I proposed my idea of a marriage as a way to make our countries come together I didn't have the same… perspective of the world that I have now. I still understand the situations that drove me to arrange the marriage… but there's something in me that wishes it didn't have to come to this."

Aisha held Eve's face in her hands.

"Those are your feelings, you know? You've sought for them for so long and now that they're with you… you're not acknowledging them." Aisha said.

"No, that's not it. I know that this is the right choice, my feelings don't have anything to do with this."

"That's why they're hurting. You're doing what you think is best, but in your heart there's a different wish. You've been so selfless for so long that maybe this once, you actually wish to act for your own good," Aisha explained.

"How can you be so sure about that? How do you know it's not a problem with my code?" Eve asked, standing up and walking around the room.

"I know that if it were, you would already have found it. Eve, calm down and think. What do you feel when you think about the marriage?" Aisha asked.

There was another long pause. Eve stopped walking around and sat again.

"I feel like a lot of things are going to change. And I feel like not all of them will be good. Days like today, where we play our music will be gone, and I don't wish for that." Eve said with a weak voice.

"And what else?" Aisha said.

"The days we spent with the council. The opening speech I give the freshmen every year. Organizing and celebrating the school festival… There are so many things that I can't list them all now."

Eve hugged her knees, shrinking into a ball of white silky hair. Aisha patted her.

"I know how you feel Eve. I felt the same way when we had that… event when I came here for the first time. Do you remember it?"

Eve nodded, she looked at Aisha. Her unchanging face did little to reflect her sadness right now, but Aisha still could feel it.

"You said that it wasn't a good idea. That I should focus on my studies and all of that… Well, you were right, but after confessing to you I was so scared that you would start avoiding me that I spent a whole night crying. I'm not lying, I was really sad because of that," She said, looking away from her, "But in the end, you were there. Just as if nothing happened, you still welcomed me as your friend. And that's not going to change. No matter what decision you make, I'll be here for you, Eve."

Eve stand up again, looking at her. A faint smile on her face as she wiped the tiny tears that formed on her eyes.

* * *

"So… how did we end up like this?" Elesis asked.

A large number of people trying to get comfortable in a small room. It was the usual night at Rena's room, however there was now two new guests. The fiery Elesis and the cold Eve.

"Come on Elesis, don't be like that. She's Aisha's friend so she's ours too, right Eve?" Rena said, patting Elesis on the back while looking at Eve.

However the President didn't seemed very interested in answering that question. She instead stood up to leave.

"I see that my presence here is not appreciated. Thank you for inviting me over miss Rena, and sorry for my early leave." She said, already going through the door.

"Wait! Now you're making me look like the villain here… You don't have to go just because… well, just stay here and don't be a pain," Elesis said, with an annoyed look in her eyes.

Eve stood at the door for a moment, looking at each human and demon there. The ones that seemed to care about the whole matter invited here to come in, while the other ones lazily gestured something that could be interpreted as "Don't care".

She stepped back in, again, and the party resumed. However there was a clear sedition between the members. There was a small group were Aisha, Eve and Ara were sat on the bed, discussing about random things. Elesis, Raven, Rena and Rose where on the other bed, murmuring who knows what and the rest of the guests were scattered around the room playing video games.

"Hey! Everyone, pay attention!" Rena suddenly shouted, making everyone fall silent "Tomorrow is the big day, we'll see our boys march on to war!"

There was a slight tone of mockery on her voice, yet both Raven and Chung stood to receive an awkward clapping.

"Thank you my ladies. When I come back I want to be received as a war hero," Raven said before getting hit by a sock from Rena.

"Come on Raven, it's not like were going to do something that special," Chung said and right after looked at Eve "Right?"

"No. As far as I know you're going to spend all the time in the military base following your superiors' orders. Well, there was this guy from a long ago who didn't follow orders and went awol but…" Eve said.

"Oh right, the 'hat guy' incident," Aisha added earning a worried face from both Ara and Chung.

"Don't pay attention to them, you'll be fine," reassured Eve.

"What's the hat guy incident?" Chung asked. However he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know.

"Oh, it's how we refer to what happened to an ex-student. He was the kind of student who succeeded in everything he does. However one day, during the military expedition; all of that got to him and he started acting weird. He went outside the military base to kill demons on his own and the only thing that we were able to retrieve from his body was his hat," Aisha explained, garnering an even more concerned look between Ara and Chung.

"As I said, follow your superiors' orders and you'll be fine," Eve said, looking at Aisha prompting her not to explain anything more about the hat guy.

"Ok! Enough with the gloomy faces, let us all head to the Nasod Whim!" Rena said, jumping out of bed.

"What? I thought it was closed during the week," Raven murmured.

"Usually it is, but since school is out, boss decided to open anyway, and lucky me I don't have shift today so… let's get the party out there!"

After everyone agreed with her they got ready to storm the place. A quick visit to their rooms to get more warm clothes and in few minutes everyone was already on their way.

"How rare to see you hanging out with us," Elesis, who was walking right behind Eve; said. They were a bit detached from the rest of the group due to Aisha having some trouble to walk in the snow.

"She asked me to tag along so here I am," Eve answered, pointing at Aisha with a gesture of her head.

Elesis chuckled, making Aisha look at her unamused.

"Elesis, I've been informed of what happened earlier, the gun fight you were involved with," Eve suddenly said, lowering her voice so Elesis would be the only one to hear.

"What? Are you going to blame me too?"

"On the contrary. I wanted to tell you that I'm glad you're ok."

The red head stopped on her tracks for a moment, Aisha caught up with her and wondered why was she waiting there. But she quickly got moving again, getting near Eve and whispering to her.

"Look. I've been thinking about the other day and… well, I just want to apologize for yelling at you like that. You have to admit that what you did was bad… but still I acted like that even after you offered me your hospitality."

"There's nothing to apologize for, Elesis." Eve said, speeding up to catch with the rest of the mob, who were already waiting at the doors of the Nasod Whim.

The disco was the same as usual. It seems that opening during the week was something not really planned. The usual DJ was replaced by a music player, and the bar was attended by a single barman. There weren't many people in the dance floor. Most of them gathered near the heaters on the sides of the room. As soon as they got inside, the group split up. Some of them started dancing, while the others waited to be served some drinks. Eve stayed next to Aisha while she decided on what to do.

"Aisha! Come on, let's dance!" Rena shouted at her friend from the center of the dance floor.

She looked at Eve as if she were asking for permission, after a while she conceded.

"Go with her, have fun," Eve said, heading for the bar.

"You're not coming?" Aisha asked.

Eve shook her head and waved her hand at her as she got dragged by Rena. She got a seat near the corner and waited for the barman to come.

"What did you mean about having nothing to apologize for?" Elesis asked, arriving followed by Raven and Chung.

Eve looked at the three of them, they just sat next to her without waiting for her permission. The barman came and the three of them asked for beer, when he asked Eve her order she answered with "just any soft cocktail".

"What I meant was that you were right being angry," Eve said.

Their drinks came up fast thanks to low amount of customers in the bar. Chung and Raven downed theirs quickly, however Elesis just took a small sip.

"Yeah, that I know, but I still shouldn't have acted like that," She said.

"That's only up to you. When humans are angry they act angry, and when they're not, they don't… most of the time," Eve added.

"Chung," Ara called just as she arrived, "want to dance with me?"

The young prince scratched the back of his head while muttering an "ok". Raven laughed and decided to go look for his own dance partner. Who ended up being Rena to surprise of no one.

"By the way Eve, I didn't know you were so good with the guitar," Elesis added, once the two boys had left them alone.

She expected some reaction from Eve. Like her getting all flustered and nervous about getting that secret exposed, but to her surprise she calmly shipped her cocktail and waited before saying:

"I'm glad you liked it."

"What? That's all you have to say?" Elesis asked in frustration.

"How did you know?" Eve asked, putting down her drink.

"Well, to be honest I already suspected it. I wondered to myself how could a well known band of miscreants hide from you, considering how persistent and relentless you can be when chasing down trouble students. But it wasn't until today when I saw you two on the gym…"

"You were able to recognize us?"

"Not at first, but I was sure that I saw a blue shine coming from that," Elesis said, pointing at the blue gem on Eve's forehead "And after that I just connected the dots. Don't worry, I haven't told anyone."

"Do what you will. It doesn't matter anymore…" Eve said.

Elesis was able to pick something from this answer. It wasn't her usual cold tone, there was a tiny bit of regret in that line.

"Why do you say that?" She asked.

"We won't be playing again… Or at least I won't be part of the band next time they play." Eve added, finishing her cocktail.

"That sucks, you were actually good with the guitar." Elesis said, emptying her glass.

"How rare, you're not trying to use this to your advantage?"

"To be honest… I do have a favor to request from you."


	15. Back to School

_**I apologize for the tardiness in this chapter. Many things happen u.u**_

 ** _Anyway, please enjoy it 3_**

* * *

The student council room was as quiet as ever. The only thing that could be heard was the scratching of the pencils against the paper and the door opening and closing. It was a boring day of filing documents for the week. A lot of work had piled up since the school was closed due to the blizzard. Aisha had finished her fiftieth document of the day and stretched out tired of having to sit for so long. She glanced over at Eve, who was working at her own desk. She hadn't said anything the whole day.

"Shall we take a break? It's been a lot of work and most of it's done," Aisha suggested.

"If you're tired you can rest," Eve said, not even taking her eyes off the paper she was working on.

Aisha sighed and resumed her work. Half an hour later everything was done. She jumped out of her chair letting out a cry of relief. Like her, everyone was happy the work was done, and they started leaving. Aisha packed everything up as well and waited for the rest of the members to leave.

"Do you want to come over?" She asked walking next to Eve's desk.

"I'll stay here a bit more, thank you."

"Are you planning on staying here all night?" Aisha asked, clearly concerned.

Eve didn't answer. After a while Aisha decided to leave her be. It was the first day after the closure and Eve had been acting strange. She figured it could be because of the marriage and all of that, but she felt like there was something more.

The night was drawing near when Eve left the council room. She left the school building and headed for the usual bar, were the usual patrons were having their usual drink. It was past closing time so only special customers were allowed to remain there. Eve walked towards the only occupied table and waited until most of the occupants had left, leaving only one.

"I'm glad that you came."

"I wouldn't want to disappoint a student over something like this, Elesis."

Elesis pulled out a chair for Eve to sit down. She also ordered a drink for her.

"And what was this favor you wanted to ask?" Eve asked.

"I guess you already know about my scores in class, right?"

"Yes, all of them were remarkable until the… incident one year ago and since then they started to slowly drop, proportional to the increase on your bad demeanor."

"Yeah, yeah, you don't need to say all of that," Elesis protested "So, to tell you the truth. I think that my scores dropped a bit too much. I was called to the principal office the other day to be told that I would fail my tests if I don't improve them."

"I'm aware of that."

"Right, so I want you to help me. If I fail the test and don't graduate I'll be stuck one more year here. And I'm not sure about going out without any kind of education. I don't want to be a waitress in a titty bar all my life, you know?" Elesis explained.

"I see, but I warned you that if you want me to pull strings you're going to have to pay it back with equal amounts of hard labour. Your gang, included."

"Yeah, yeah, be a good girl, I get it. Now, will you help me or not?" Elesis asked.

"As I said, I wouldn't disappoint a student. Tomorrow, before the first class starts I want to see you in the student council room." Eve stated before leaving.

* * *

The day finally arrived. A big parade was organized in the city where soldiers from the army would march. The citizens were seeing them off since today they would sail to the frontline. Along with the army, the few students who assigned as part of the expedition were among them, marching on the tail end of the parade. Military music livened up the event, a rain of confetti showered the soldiers on their way to the skyship hangar, were a bunch of recently arrived warships awaited them. Some of them were hovering near the building, while the bigger ones were docked inside. The biggest one: the battleship Elios Wrath was already waiting on the runway. It's distinctive huge cannons were easy to see from the distance, alongside with the red painted bottom that reminded a naval battleship.

Chung, Raven and all his classmates waved at the people that gathered at both sides of the road with a nervous smile on their faces. The feeling of being treated as a war hero was kind of pleasant, even when they knew they were going nowhere near the frontline. Leading them was Ethan and on their back they had teacher Q. They were riding a convertible double-decker painted white. In front of them was a heavy armored vehicle from the army, and right in front of it was a tank. Some soldiers marched by foot, doing juggles with their weapons to impress the crowd.

"So here we are, on our way to glory," Raven said trying to hide his nervousness.

"I hope we come back in one piece…" Chung added without stopping to wave at the people.

Their bus entered a tunnel that muffled the crowd. On the other side, the runway and the Elios Wrath was waiting for them. They got off the bus and gathered were Ethan instructed them, awaiting new orders. They had been instructed to always wait for either him, Teacher Q or any other ranking officer before doing anything on their own. After a while Ethan ordered them to move and wait right next to one of the many ramps that allowed access into the huge battleship. Seeing it this close make Chung really excited about it. The ship was even larger than several of buildings put together. The huge cannons on the upper desk and the ones on the bottom of the ship had barrels big enough to fit more than one person inside, and even when the ship was on standby, the heat from its engines could be felt.

"Now you will meet the captain of this ship, who is also the admiral of the Nasod Fleet," Ethan stated, lining up with his students "Attention!"

They prepared their salute as a weird sound came from the ship. It was similar to something metallic hitting the ground. The sound repeated itself in a constant rhythm, and was loud enough to hear over the ship engines. Whatever was hitting the ground was quite big. Soon, from the door on the other side of the ramp, a huge figure emerged. Chung blinked, for a moment he thought it was his father, but it was actually a Nasod. It was however the first time meeting someone as tall as him. Said Nasod was huge, and the cape he was wearing didn't help. His face was a lot more "robot" looking that the ones of his comrades. His eyes were two black circles with glowing dots on the center, one glowed yellow while the other was white. He also had something that looked like a beard, but actually was a reinforcement plate shaped as one. He also wore a white captain hat with the symbol representing the Nasod Fleet in it. His black cape covered almost all of his body and it had a lot of medals hanging on one side. Two gilded shoulder pads gave it an even larger shape. The source of the weird sound seemed to be one of his legs, which was replaced by a metallic pegleg.

The students saluted him and he returned the greeting by placing his right hand on his forehead. Right after that he faced both Chung and Raven. A silver hook emerged from the cape were his left hand should be and lifted Chung of the ground by one of the folds of his armor. Even with his cannon on the back, the admiral lifted him as effortlessly as he would lift a pebble.

"So you are the one sent here for being an undisciplined brat huh?" He said, in a low raspy voice.

He dropped the boy, who stumbled and nearly lost his balanced, but managed to stay still and salute him again. The admiral looked at Raven and without saying a word he went back to the ramp and faced all the students.

"My name is Dragun! Admiral Dragun! Over the next few days you will be sailing on my ship. Don't worry about this little… presentation, since I've heard that unlike those two, all of you had made great efforts to be allowed in this journey. Fear not! When you come back, you will all be men and women with hair on your chests! Now you may come inside!" He said, heading back into the ship.

Following him, they boarded the ship. The insides of it were as expected: walls of iron, floors of iron, ceilings of iron, doors of iron, tables of iron, chairs of iron… The only thing that wasn't made of iron was the windows and, thankfully; the beds. There were long pipes at each side of most corridors, mixed with cables and other unknown devices. The lighting was mostly made of small light bulbs that gave off an eerie aura. Lots of noises from the engine rooms could be heard even on the upper levels of the ship. After a long walk, they finally arrived at the ship's bridge. It was a large room, filled with holographic displays that monitored every little detail of the ship. Lots of military grade Nasods were deployed there, keeping an eye on the displays. Raven realized that they haven't met any member of the crew on the way here and raised his hand. The captain prompted him to ask as soon as he saw him.

"Excuse me sir, is this all the crew the ship has?"

"You could say this is all the crew required to man this ship, but actually there are more of my crew onboard, however most of them are still at the parade, and the other ones are already in the engine rooms."

The captain sat at a big chair placed on the center of the bridge.

"Instructor Ethan, please show your pupils the ship. When you're finish, issue those two brats to clean the deck. I want to be able to see my reflection on it so they better make a good effort," The captain said without taking his eyes of the screen that popped open in front of him.

It took some time for the crew to come aboard. Once the parade ended, they boarded the ship alongside with lots of equipment. Even some of the tanks from the parade were loaded onto the ship. The crewmen were not only Nasod, but humans and even some Pongoes. All of them were dressed in a white sailor uniform. However, Raven and Chung didn't get to see any of it. They were busy mopping the deck. It was rather pointless since it looked already shiny, but they decided to humor the captain of the ship, considering the situation.

"You two, we're taking off so come inside!" They heard a Nasod call for them.

Once inside they were asked to meet with their classmates. It looked like while they were doing all that mopping, the rest of them were relaxing in the canteen. A large group of students sat in a semicircle around the captain, who was laughing loudly as he spoke. He was telling the students some old stories about the navy. When he saw the two of them he motioned for them to sit as well.

"I hope you two don't hate me too much for that one," He said with a strong voice, "But you've been naughty and some punishment was required."

He stopped speaking to chug a huge mug at his side.

"Alright, I was telling your friends here how I got this pegleg."

He didn't have his cape on, so his huge frame was visible. He didn't wear any clothes, or more precisely, normal clothes. His frame was shaped as an admiral uniform made out of steel. With distinct details including gilded cordons and shoulder pads and numerous of medals. Once he finished speaking, a Nasod officer saluted him.

"Admiral! Preparations are complete, we're waiting for you to take off." The Nasod said, before saluting again and leaving.

"Well, you heard the man, time to wake this sleeping beauty." The admiral said getting up and putting his cape on.

He left with his pegleg making the same weird noise it made when they met him.

"Alright, all of you go to your rooms. You and Seiker, follow me," Ethan said, leading both Chung and Raven to their rooms.

Since the Elios Wrath was such a huge ship, there were individual rooms for any sailor with enough spares for guests such as them. However that was an incredible luxury. Even other large battleships could not afford to set individual rooms and have to resort to single large rooms with lots of beds or even hammocks. The rooms weren't big though, they were made only to house a bed, a table and a closet.

"So, did you mistake captain Dragun with your daddy?" Ethan suddenly asked making Chung stiffen.

"Well, It's not like I get to met many people that big…" He excused himself.

"Actually, the mistake was to be expected. You see, the frame that Nasod has was originally going to be an armor design for your father. It was meant to be a gift from the Nasods for the ship he built for them. But then that… incident happened and the whole thing was forgotten. But since the armor was already made and it was so expensive to do, they decided to build a Nasod core for the Admiral and put him inside the armor."

"Oh right, the ship that fell on demon ground." Chung said, reminding the huge chaos that fell upon the nation after that.

"What's that incident you're talking about?" Raven asked out of curiosity.

"Let's see. All sky ships were originally designed by Nasod engineers and once the alliance between the three nations formed, they shared that technology with Belder and Hamel in order to gain strength against the demons, who didn't possess it. However, all sky ships built in Belder and Altera have a built-in self-destruction system to scuttle the ship if it were to fell on enemy hands. However Hamel's politicians, Chung's father among them; decided it was too inhuman and refused to put it in their sky ships. Well, as expected, a Hamel ship ended up being damaged and crashed on demon's ground. Two weeks later the demons show up with their own sky ships looking like the ones from Hamel and you guess the rest of the story," Ethan explained.

"Good thing it all was forgiven and the nations united, again." Chung added.

They reached their respective rooms, they were next to each other and both rooms were identical. Once everyone was safe in their post, a siren rang throughout the ship as a loud noise could be heard originating from the lower levels of the ship. The engine was starting. At first it was like a buzzing and then it sounded like a huge flame stream flowing wildly. Chung looked through the window on his cabin and saw the ship starting to move along the runway. The motor roared louder and the huge warship started to gain speed as it lifted of the ground. Once the runway reached its end, the majestic battleship launched into the sky, quickly surrounded by other smaller ships.

"We have successfully taken off; all personnel shall resume their duties now. Guests aboard the ship please go to the bridge," A female voice said through an internal megaphone system.

* * *

The student council was as quiet as ever. Only two people were inside, watching the huge battleship leave its port: Elesis and Eve. Elesis couldn't resist but yawn, it was incredibly early for her and she also worked last night. The club finally reopened now that the skylights were fixed.

"So what are we doing this early in the morning?" She asked.

"This is the usual hour for the students to wake up, you know? Anyway, I called you here before everyone else because I wanted to discuss your new schedule."

"I have a new schedule?"

"I made you one," Eve answered, showing her a pink sheet with lots of squares. It all looked hand drawn.

Elesis took a look at it.

"Did you… draw all of this? Even the little flowers on this corner and the heart shaped dots on top of the i letters?"

"Yeah, I thought you would enjoy a good looking one," Eve answered a bit proud of herself.

Elesis just sighed and wondered how Eve was able to manage all of Elesis' new schedule. There was little to no time for rest. The mornings were busy with school, which was to be expected, but the afternoons were mainly focused on "studying" and "club activities", with an empty space between the later and "work". She even wrote down at what hour she should go to sleep. Apparently right after work.

"I don't belong to any club," Elesis said.

"I know, we'll get you in one this evening."

"This late in the school year?"

"I'll speak on your behalf, don't worry. You actually need to join one. You need to do anything that can improve your score or you'll be expelled. I've discussed it with Principal Penensio and we reached an agreement. If you successfully follow the schedule I gave you he will consider erasing your terrible record."

Elesis sighed again. It was early in the morning and her head already hurt.

"You could also join the student council if you don't want to belong in a club."

"That would require me to spend lots of time with that girl that hates me so much."

"Don't say that, I'm sure that if you tell Aisha that you're trying to change she'll see you with different eyes."

"Not that I care. Alright, I'm going to class now."

She exited the student council room and headed for her first class of the day. The hallways were already starting to fill of students. On her way to the classroom she checked the schedule once more. She realized it was kind of embarrassing to walk around with that pink sheet so she made sure to remember to upload it later on her Elshard. She was already starting to question if she was doing the right thing with all of this. Not like studying is a bad choice, but it looks like the way to achieve this was going to be extra difficult.

"Elesis!" A loud yell surprised her on her way; she turned to see Lu rushing to her "I've never seen you here this early in the morning."

Lu giggled at the comment and Elesis answered with a chuckle. "Have I been absent this much?" She thought to herself.

The morning passed by as boring as expected. Lunch break went by fast and now she was sitting in the library, staring at a pile of textbooks. Eve sat next to her, searching up something about the clubs on her Elshard.

"I can't study all of this in so little time…" Elesis protested.

"Don't worry, I'll help you. With the right study technique you'll be able to learn all of this in no time, I promise."

"You better not be lying," Elesis said, grabbing one of them and getting to it.

Two hours later Elesis felt sick. Eve's methods where useful but they were hellishly intense. She was feeling as if any new thing she could learn would make her head blow up. Now it was the time search for a club to join. And only now Elesis realized she didn't knew what club would she enjoy.

"So, I was thinking… I would normally go for a sports club but, since I have work I'm not sure it would be a good idea, I might end up too tired at the end of the day," Elesis said.

"Then you can choose any indoors club that you want," Eve added, showing her the display on her Elshard. There was a list of groups that had their activities focused on calm things. "What do you think about the art club?"

"Nah, I suck at drawing," Elesis answered.

"Music club?"

"I suck at music too,"

"Cooking?"

"I don't like it."

For a while Eve listed lots of different clubs but Elesis dismissed all of them because not liking it or not wanting it.

"Alright, then what do you want?" Eve asked starting to feel frustrated.

"Mmm… Hey, this one here!" Elesis answered, pointing at the photography club on the list.

"Photography? Alright, if you like it I'll take you there and make the necessary arrangements."

"Hey," Elesis said, stopping Eve on her tracks "Hum… I just wanted to say thanks. I mean, you didn't had a reason to help me out with this, considering the things that I've done and I've said to you…"

"Don't worry, you already know that kind of thing doesn't affect me."

* * *

A few days was all that they needed to get used to the ship. Life aboard the Elios Wrath was quite interesting. Every day they would be instructed on the use of many of the ship's devices. And near the night they would usually go and rest on the canteen with every other sailor.

"So, where are we heading anyway?" Raven asked while eating.

"You're going to be deployed on a military camp somewhere in the Areha dessert. Since Ranox is currently the frontline of the demon invasion, you won't be seeing much action there, however be warned that it's not that weird to see some." Ethan explained.

"And when will we be arriving?" Chung asked.

"We are currently taking a detour since we had to supply some camps near the frontline so my guess is that we should arrive by tomorrow night." Ethan said.

Suddenly, their conversation was cut off by the sound of an alarm, followed by a ringing bell. Everyone on the ship stormed out the canteen.

"General quarters! General quarters! Man your battle-stations, this is not a drill. Repeat: this is not a drill," A distorted voice warned through the megaphone system.

In mere seconds the whole canteen was empty, save for the group of students.

"Stay where you are, we will wait here until we're given new orders," Ethan commanded the students.

"Oh no… they're here! There are demon battleships out there right?" One of the students said in a scared tone.

"Calm down, it's probably just a small enemy patrol fleet that wandered too far into our territory," Ethan said, trying to reassure the students.

"A patrolling fleet wouldn't got that close to us, though…" Raven whispered in a way only Chung could hear it.

The phone on the canteen sounded and Ethan picked it up. After a short exchange he faced the students.

"Follow me, we are heading for the bridge. On our way there and once we reach there we won't interfere with the sailors. We are merely going there since it's the safest place of the ship, got it?" He said with a loud yell.

They exited the canteen tailing Ethan on their way to the bridge. Most students were actually frightened, while Chung was feeling a bit excited. He wasn't expecting to see a battle on this journey and suddenly they were in one.

Before they arrived at the bridge there was a huge noise outside the ship. It sounded like an explosion. Right after the sound, the ship swayed, nearly knocking over all students. Ethan hurried on his way and they finally reached the safety of the bridge. From the windows up there they could see what was going on.

There was a large black ship far away from them, surrounded by a group of smaller ships. The demon ships were unlike anything they saw before. They looked like they were alive. On the bow of the ship fangs and teeth could be seen, and even what looked like giant arms hanging on both sides. A black fog shrouded the ships, but some eerie noises came from them. Like the whole things were alive and breathing. However it was more worrying the big cannons on top of them, currently pointing in their direction.

"So, those are the demon's sky ships…" Chung said, not being able to hide his nervousness.

"Oh! The little kids are here, perfect, now we can actually get to work!" The captain said "Alright kids, just stand there and watch, this is going to be on your next test."

The commander started giving orders to his officers. All of them were pretty unintelligible for them. Things such as "Battle Speed 2" and "Get us bearing 267" made the ship start rotating and accelerating. "Rear secondary artillery stand by for enemy skippers" caused the side of the ship facing the enemy to awake in a full variety of noises from lots of metallic gears turning around.

"Main artillery. Target: Enemy Flagship! Commence barrage!"

The bigger guns on the front and back of the ship came to life as they rotated and pointed at the biggest enemy warship. Seconds later the sound of an explosion and the rocking on the ship sent a large array of shells into the enemy direction. Chung counted at least 12 of them while they traveled midair. Most of them missed the mark; however one struck its target in its bow. An explosion lit the sky; however the enemy ship continued maneuvering as if nothing happened. As response, the enemy fired their cannons as well.

"All to starboard!" The captain shouted.

The ship suddenly tilted to the right and started moving to the left. Chung saw the enemy shells striking the point where they would be if they hadn't moved in time.

"Torpedoes approaching our port!" One of the Nasod officers said.

"All to port! Secondary artillery open fire!" The captain commanded.

The ship quickly tilted the other way around as well as it changed its direction. Chung saw a lot of big torpedoes soaring the skies towards them. The smaller cannons placed all along the ship port fired, taking down most of them. The ship finally finished rotating, pointing its bow to the enemy torpedoes. Chung saw two of them nearly hitting the ship as they traveled across both sides.

"Get us some air superiority!" The admiral ordered now through a phone.

Chung remembered about the fleet they were traveling with. There was the Elios Wrath and its sister ship: the Nemesis. A battleship as big and impressive as the first one. There was also one called the Blue Lighthouse. A Hamel Navy Carrier. A sky ship designed to carry and send smaller skippers into combat. And a bunch of Belder destroyers: smaller sky ships armed with dangerous loads of torpedoes.

From what he could see, the enemy fleet was composed of a large battleship, two cruisers and six destroyers. It was bigger than a patrolling fleet, however they were missing a carrier, and that would make a huge disadvantage for them.

"Full speed ahead!"

The battleship quickly built up speed, Chung saw a blinding light came out of the enemy ship. Thick lasers were shot from their cannons, they were narrowly dodged by the new maneuvers of the ship. There was a new shot, coming from one of the cruisers. It landed on the deck and cause a big explosion. They watched as fire and smoke obscured their vision. However once cleared nothing but small traces of fire remained on the area of impact.

"Our hull is holding, minimal damage on deck sir!" Another Nasod officer said.

"Return fire, target the enemy's escort" Dragun yelled.

The main batteries rotated again and fired their deadly shell towards the enemy. This time they were more spread, however many of them hit the mark. Big explosions on the smaller cruisers set them afire. One of them started to tilt to its starboard and suddenly started to fall.

"Confirmed hit on four enemy vessels. Two fires initiated. One critically damaged," yet another Nasod officer announced.

"Get ready to fire again, switch to energy ammunition."

As the cannons readied, dozens of smaller skippers flew over the ship. All of them flying the Hamel flag. Chung saw large bombs attached to their lower parts. The enemy fired it's secondary artilleries at them, successfully taking down some of them. The ones that made it through dropped their payload on the enemies. Huge explosions were seen again, followed by ships starting to burn and lose altitude.

"The air raid has successfully damaged the escorting fleet!"

"Attention, message from our scout. New enemies arriving from the north!"

As they were all distracted on the battle going on, they hadn't realized at the huge enemy ships coming from the other side. Chung could see 4 battleships and what looked like 2 carriers.

"Identification signal confirmed, it's the enemy super-dreadnought class Lenore!" One of the officers said.

"Hah! That's interesting. I hope the energy bullets are ready. Main artillery! Target: the new enemy approaching. Engage fire!"

The turrets turned from one side to the other slowly. They locked on to their target and fired. However this time it wasn't a shell, but a stream of blue bolts of laser. Surprisingly enough, the enemy also fired their lasers. Blue streams crossed paths with purple ones. Their shots landed on one of the new enemy battleships approaching, cutting through it like butter. Six lasers passed through it, causing explosions all along its sides.

"Concentrate the atomic shield on the bow!" The admiral ordered.

Various plates of armor lifted, revealing cylindrical generators. A hexagon shaped grid of blue energy was raised around the bow. The enemy lasers impacted it and vanished almost instantly, except for one, that was able to pierce the shield and hit the lower half of the ship. A huge explosion was heard and Chung along with his classmates was sent flying until painfully crashing onto the ground.

"Explosion on engine room 4, fire spreading through room 4 to 5!"

"Seal them! Call for reinforcements!" The captain commanded.

"Response from the Hamel navy: long range ballistic missiles on the way. The Belder navy also confirmed our request: reinforcements in ten minutes!"

"How long until the Hamel missiles hit?" The captain asked.

"Five minutes."

"Alright, pull out! We won't risk friendly fire here!"

The ship started to rotate, pointing the bow away from the enemy fleets.

"The fire on engine rooms 4 and 5 has been extinguished!"

"Perfect. Main battery, second volley, after the enemy carrier!"

The cannons fired their lasers again. This time targeting the enemy carrier. It was currently deploying lots of smaller skippers. A green glow appeared around it as it raised its own shield. However it wasn't enough to keep up with the Elios Wrath artillery and it was easily penetrated by the lasers. The streams of energy cut through the enemy ship and they could see how the bow separated from the ship and fell down in the ocean, slowly followed by the carrier.

"Enemy carrier destroyed!"

"Great job, now try to get us out of here in one piece!"

The ship gained speed. As they were now facing the opposite direction from the enemy Chung saw a lot of glowing lights in the distance. They must be Hamel ballistic missiles. While they were pulling out, a big explosion was heard.

"Hit on our carrier, the destroyer Tsubaki was also hit, it's currently going down."

Again the sound of an explosion, bigger this time.

"The escort ship Steiner has been hit. Their ammunition magazines detonated, the ship has been destroyed."

"They must be thinking that they won huh? Main cannons fire!" The captain yelled.

The cannons fired their shells. They traveled through the sky until hitting the Lenore. Several explosions on its starboard were seen. One of them was followed by a bigger one.

"Confirmed penetration. The Lenore is severely damaged!"

"Nemesis! Follow up!"

The cannons of the sister ship opened fire, targeting the same ship. The shells struck the battleship and again a set of explosion were seen on its side. Not a big one this time, but a lot of smoke and fire started coming out of the holes on the hull.

Hamel ballistic missiles came into the scene. Swiftly flying towards the enemy fleet. They landed on two of the battleships and one carrier. The explosions engulfed the entire ships, however the two battleships came out barely damaged. The carrier however was going away with its runway destroyed.

"Hamel ballistic missiles failed to take out the enemy battleships! The enemy carrier was heavily damaged by the long range attack."

"That was all we need. Full speed ahead! Retreat!"

The ship roared as the engines hit full throttle. They were finally leaving. It looked like the enemy fleet was also leaving.

"Aren't we going to sink the enemy warships?" One of the students asked.

"No. The enemy objective was to damage our ships. The Elios Wrath and the Nemesis, more precisely. This kind of ship is extremely expensive to repair and having it damaged or destroyed would be really bad for the war." Ethan explained.

"But!" The captain said, interrupting the teacher "We also damaged the Lenore in exchange, so we were at a stalemate. We could wait until Belder reinforcements arrived, but it's possible that the enemy was waiting for reinforcements, as well."

There were signs of relief from the students as the enemy ships already banished on the dark sky. The captain ordered all personnel to return to normal operations.

"It's sure going to be an interesting journey," Raven finally said, on their way to the cabins.


	16. Again

_**WARNING:**_ _ **This chapter contains lewd stuff :D**_

 _ **It was a long wait but it's finally done. Enjoy it to your hearts content!**_

* * *

The beautiful sound of a bell marked the end of the day's classes. The students flooded the hallways on their way to their clubs or their homes. Elesis was among the former, today was her first day assisting the photography club. According to Eve, she had made the necessary arrangement in order to let the delinquent join this late in the year.

The photography club's headquarters was located in one of the highest floors in the school's main building. The tower wasn't completely dedicated for school activities but for the few rooms that were, some of the rooms would be located at the highest points. The unused parts of the towers were filled with either offices or computer rooms, all of them serving the purpose of powering the central tower.

Elesis knocked on the door and waited for a response. A shy "come in" was heard on the other side and Elesis did so. The room was almost like a normal classroom except for a booth that was built at one of the corners. She guessed that was what photographers used to reveal photos. The walls of the room had lots of hanged samples of the members' works. From large photos of landscapes or big events to tiny portraits of people. Some of them had decorations around them, probably the favorite ones. There were five members and the club president inside, Elesis didn't know any of them, which may be actually good considering she was there trying to improve her scores.

"Welcome to our club room, Elesis. The president already told us about you," The club leader stated.

A knock was heard and someone else entered the room. He was an older man, with a scruffy beard and hair. He was also wearing a brown vest with its pockets filled with photos and camera accessories.

"Oh, the new girl is here. I'm Adams, the club overseer. I also work as a teacher on this school, so if you need something just talk to me. From now on, though, the club president will take care of teaching you about photography club activities."

"That's me," the girl from before said "I'm Gloria, nice to meet you."

She was a bit smaller than Elesis. She had beautiful golden eyes and blonde hair. And was wearing a hood even though she was indoors. Her clothes were a bit weird. Maybe she was a foreigner. Elesis paid it no mind however as she heard the girl's explanations. Most club activities were about taking photos and revealing them. The good ones would get hanged, simple enough.

"Also, I won't go into much detail about it, but there's a particular photo that everyone in this club is looking for. If you manage to get that particular photo, it would be a great addition to our collection, just letting you know…" Gloria added once her explanation was finished.

* * *

"Attention everyone! Start packing up, we're moving!" Ethan shouted.

It was early in the morning, everyone was in the ship's training facilities doing their workout routine. Chung was running on a treadmill next to Raven, and the rest of their classmates were occupying other machines.

"Where are we going?" Chung asked stepping down the machine.

"We are being transferred to a skipper for the rest of our journey. Since the ship sustained serious damage it's being sent directly over Hamel to perform repairs," Ethan explained.

"Serious damage? We only took one hit!" Raven said feeling confused.

"The engine room 4 was blown up by that hit, and engine room 5 burned to a crisp due to it. The hull's integrity was also compromised. It may have been just a hit, but it was the Lenore who shot it. The Navy can't allow this ship to run in these conditions, losing it would be a major problem, now get ready, we're sailing before lunchtime."

"It's kind of a shame that they're going to Hamel and I can't go along," Chung said feeling a bit melancholic.

"Don't worry, after we complete our mission we'll have to stop by Hamel to ride our way home again." Ethan said reassuring him.

As ordered, they all packed their belongings and waited at the deck until a skipper arrived. It extended a ramp to allow them to get in. They also loaded some cargo boxes on the skipper before it finally flew away. Traveling in the skipper was a lot faster but at the same time it wasn't as comfortable as the ship. Two hours later they finally saw the camp that would be their new home for the next weeks. It wasn't as big as expected, five rows of tents and a bigger tent on one of the sides, with plenty of space used as training camps. The skipper landed on an unmarked clear area and they were lead into their barracks.

Unlike the ship, this time they would have to stay in single rooms stuffed with bunk beds. And there was also the fact that girls and boys would be sleeping on the same room.

However there was already a warning about "immoral" actions that would end with them half buried in the desert for hours. Luckily they didn't have to share their barracks with the regular recruits.

After all of them chose a bunk, they were asked to get dressed with their new uniforms. Chung however was allowed to keep his Freutinier since there wasn't any replacement for that kind of gear. However he was asked to leave the destroyer and use what they called "Standard issue Hamel Hand-cannon" It was pretty much like his Destroyer but with a more plain look. He remembered using those when he was younger though.

"Alright worms! I hope you're ready to run through the desert, because we have a mission for you already!" A man that just entered the barrack said.

They all formed next to their beds waiting for the man's instructions. He was fully dressed in officer uniform with a wide-brimmed hat. His first order of the day was to submit the students to a hellish training circuit under the unforgiving desert sun.

* * *

"Do you want to come to my place after we finish things here?"

As the sun was setting, the student council was already preparing to go home. Aisha decided to remain to help Eve with her duties while almost everyone else left. Apparently, a large group of students went on the military training expedition without telling their guardians, and a lot of complaint letters arrived once they discovered it.

"Why don't we go to the Nasod Whim instead?" Eve suggested back to Aisha.

"Oh, how rare for you to suggest that nowadays. Should I call the guys?" Aisha asked.

"No, just the two of us."

Aisha smiled. With this in mind she worked even faster. They just answered back to all letters assuring that the students won't suffer any harm and that the members of the expedition were announced repeated times on the school's NN portal. It was their fault for not caring about them. The pile of paperwork was finally gone and they headed out. As they were chatting on the hallway a flash of light caught their attention. They looked back to see Elesis standing there with an old-fashioned black polaroid camera in her hand and a photo in the other one.

"Good night girls," She cheerfully said shaking the photo that just came out the camera.

"Oh, good night, Elesis," Aisha replied with her voice full of hostility.

"Good night Elesis, weren't you supposed to be studying by now?" Eve asked.

"And I was doing it, but now I have to go to work. Look, the guys from the club advised me to carry a camera all the time in case I would get a nice photo. Who would think I could get one of the president hanging out with her girlfriend." Elesis said, laughing out loud at the end.

"G-girlfriend?" Aisha stuttered.

Elesis laughed again at this reaction. Although Eve was untouched by it, Aisha felt a little embarrassed.

"We were just about ready to leave, ourselves. do you want a ride?" Eve asked earning an angry look from Aisha.

"Well, I don't like driving a bike in this weather so, yeah, I would appreciate it." Elesis said, getting the same reaction from Aisha.

They headed to the parking lot where Eve's car waited. Elesis insisted in being allowed to sit in front, which only annoyed Aisha more. She even whispered in Eve's ear that Elesis was just trying to annoy her.

"By the way, aren't you worried that I'd find out where you work?" Aisha asked.

"I've been followed by so many hounds lately that it's weird that you weren't one of them," Elesis flatly answered, "Actually, if you want you can come over, I'll ask the boss to give you a discount."

"No, thank you," Eve answered before Aisha could ask anything else, "We've already made arrangements."

They left Elesis at the mall and headed straight for their original destination. Elesis went through the employee's door of the club. This was the first day since she decided to change her way of doing things. Maybe she should start looking for a better job. After all, no matter how you put it, working there was still pretty sad. She dressed in her bunny suit and got ready to tend to the clients when she got a call. She had to spend some time looking in her drawer for the Elshard but was able to pick it up in time.

"Hey, if isn't soldier boy," She said once the call connected.

"Very funny," Raven was heard on the other side, there was also a muffled noise on the background that looked like a lot of people chatting "How are things over there?"

"Well, I've decided to… give all of this a pause. I asked Eve for help with my studies and I think I'll leave the leadership of the gang to you…"

"Wow, so much for only being away for less than a week. Anyway, I guess you're not going to like what I'm about to say since you're saying that."

"What is it?" Elesis asked, her boss appeared through the door and pointed at his wrist even though he wasn't carrying a watch.

"You're not going to believe it but today as I was practicing I've overheard some of the officers speaking. They were going on about a suspicious package being delivered back to Altera. I knew what they were talking about, there was some packages on our ride here that I actually check before landing."

"And what's in this particular package?"

"Elum. Lots of it. A whole shipment."

"What? I thought soldiers weren't allowed to have it, even when deployed outside Altera."

"Yeah, not even Nasod officers get to drink it here, but the thing is: they were talking about sending it back to Altera. But, I don't recall that thing being loaded into the ship in the first place, I've only saw it once we transferred ships."

"Wait Raven, I know what you're trying to say, and I've already told you that I'm done with all of it." Elesis said, already leaving the Elshard on the drawer before hanging up.

"Are you sure? I counted dozens of bottles in those boxes; if we get a hold on them we'll be richer than an Arehan sultan."

"Raven, that's enough."

She hung up and went out. Her boss was already looking angry when he gave her the tray to carry the drinks to the booths. Her head was now filled with ill thoughts about what Raven just said. If they got that cargo, they'll be rich… however. The cargo was going to be shipped in a warship, and the military aren't as lax on security as normal alcohol companies. And there was the fact that she now knew about the mafias that are trying to get that as well, not to mention the two police officers that are on her tail.

However what was holding her back the most, was the fact that she just started to change everything, and she knew that if she did that, all that Eve had done would go to waste. She felt strange. She didn't know why but lately she was feeling a lot less animosity towards her. After all, Eve never had nothing against her, and she even placed her faith in her now, going out of her way to help her with her "reformation". She sighed before entering the booth to attend her first client of the night.

The Nasod Whim was as full as ever. Eve and Aisha went to their usual spot in the reserved balconies. The glass walls isolated the external noise as the music was streamed through speakers into the small room. Eve also used the electronic control of the room, turning the glass walls into one way mirrors, keeping anyone from seeing what was going on inside from the outside. She sighed as she let herself fall on the large sofa making Aisha staring at her.

"What's wrong?"

"A lot of things are happening back at home," Eve said, lying face up on the sofa while massaging her eyes "Herbaon sent a gift and apparently it disappeared, and that's the least of my problems. There are lots of things to take care of for the wedding and I'm already tired of it."

Aisha felt weird, she never saw Eve saying something like that. She reached for the room's interphone and asked the waitress to bring some drinks.

"Cheer up, we're here to forget about all of that," She said in an attempt at making Eve feel better.

She sat straight when the barman arrived with a tray full of different bottles. He left them on the table in the center of the booth and went away. Aisha kneeled next to it and started mixing things.

"What do you want to have?" She asked, filling a glass for her.

"Something soft," Eve said.

"Come on… You know what, I'll make you one of my choice," She said, skillfully combining the drinks.

"I don't know, you always drink strong stuff." Eve said.

It was true that Aisha would usually go for the stronger drinks, however she would always get easily drunk, while Eve had a lot of endurance for drinks. Aisha sat next to her with two drinks on her hand. Without telling her what was in there, she gave Eve one of them. It was transparent, which made it even harder to guess what was it.

"I guess it's not water," Eve said before taking a sip.

"Just drink it," Aisha said with her glass already halved.

Eve give it a go. Drowning her sadness in alcohol wasn't something she would normally do, but maybe this time she could make an exception.

Except, because it doesn't work. With a lot more of drinks emptied, Eve was still sitting straight while Aisha was awkwardly dancing around inside the booth. She even tried singing in the karaoke but she desisted once her voice started sounding aphonic. Tired, she finally sat next to Eve, lazily leaning against her.

"Feeling better?" Eve asked.

"I should be the one asking you that question…" She answered.

Eve laughed at her comment. Some of the frustration already vented upon seeing Aisha doing such embarrassing things. Maybe that was her plan from the start.

"Eve… Can I ask you something? It's about Elesis."

"Go ahead."

"Why do you care so much about her? I mean, you'll say that you care about all students like that but you have to admit that you're going way out of the way just for her sake."

Eve sighed. She wasn't sure how to answer.

"That's true but Elesis needs some special treatment. After all if we let her go wild with her goons she may become a real problem. And she also showed interest in changing so…"

"But why you care more about her than about me?!" Aisha yelled out, immediately covering her mouth.

Probably she wouldn't have said that if it weren't for the amount of alcohol in her body.

"What I mean is…" She made a pause "I don't know how to express it. But I feel left out. Since you started watching over her, you've spent all the time you could with her. And now you even started helping her with her studies. The other day I asked you to study with me and you said I was able to do it alone."

"But you are able to…" Eve started saying.

"But I want to do it with you!" Aisha protested, "And not only that, I just can't stand it knowing you're investing more time with her than with me."

This time Eve stared at her, eyes wide open. Aisha had tears running on her cheeks. She covered her face.

"I'm sorry. I messed up. I was supposed to help you relax but here I am. Doing things wrong, again. But since I've started I might as well tell you all about it. Eve, I don't want you to marry that guy. I think you're doing something stupid. I get that you are doing it for the sake of everyone else, but I still think you don't deserve that. Herbaon can be as nice as he wants but still you should marry whoever you want…"

"Aisha," Eve tried to stop her, but Aisha raised her hand to ask her to listen.

"And furthermore… you remember that day a year ago, right? Back then, you said it wasn't a good idea, and I just ran out crying. After that, I've pretended to be alright; that I've accepted your decision. And I kept doing that until now, but I can't go on anymore. What I feel when you're with Elesis is not the feeling of being left out. It's jealousy. I know you like her, that's why you're so interested in her, isn't it?"

Eve didn't say anything, she waited for Aisha to wipe her tears and sip her drink.

"I know that you don't want me to get married with him. And I also suspected that you were envious of Elesis… but I didn't know you were pretending about being alright about what happened a year ago."

"I tried hiding it. I didn't want to bother you with it, but I can't put up with it anymore, to be honest. So tell me Eve, is the concept of _us_ not being a good idea the only reason? Aren't there any other reasons?"

Eve sighed; she waited for her to calm down before answering.

"Yeah. And I still think that is a bad idea. You need to concentrate on your studies. You've told me about all the great things you want to do once you finish them, and I don't want to stand in the way. And if you were to become my girlfriend, Aisha, the life that would await you wouldn't be any good, believe me."

"But then… what makes you so interested in Elesis?" Aisha asked.

"I could say that she… represents the opposite of everything that is pressing me right now." Eve answered, not totally sure of her own words.

Aisha sighed, falling back in the sofa. She was about to say something.

"You're trying to become like her?" Aisha asked.

"I can't do that."

"But you're trying."

Silence again.

"Can I ask you a favor?" Aisha suddenly said.

"What is it?"

"Only for this night."

Eve looked at her confused. Aisha prepared another drink for her and emptied it amazingly fast. She sat back next to Eve and leaned against her, whispering in her ear.

"Let us be happy only for tonight."

Eve looked at her still confused and them, without previous warning; Aisha kissed her. She pressed her lips against Eve's, embracing her in a passionate kiss. Eve's eyes widened at her but slowly she also closed hers and returned the kiss, facing her to also embrace her. Seeing her kiss returned Aisha pressed on, biting on Eve's lip and pushing her against the backrest.

Their lips like they were burning, but they weren't willing to let go. Eve sighed, pulling away from the kiss, just to be pushed down by Aisha, pressing her lips against hers again. She wouldn't let Eve go; she even grabbed Eve by the wrists and held them against the sofa over her head. They kissed until they felt dizzy due to the lack of breath, Aisha pulled away allowing them to catch their breath. Aisha let go of Eve's arms and climbed on top of her, she stared into her golden eyes while drawing close again. Eve didn't say anything, Aisha wondered if she was just enduring it "for the night".

They kissed again, sucking each other tongue. Aisha slid her hands under Eve's shirt, causing her to gasp. She tried to stop Aisha from going any further causing her to break the kiss.

"Sorry, should I stop?" Aisha asked.

"Well…" Eve wasn't sure what answer.

"I know. Let's pay for our drinks and go back to my room."

The way back was a bit awkward. Neither of them spoke, even with their minds so full. Even that late at night there were some students roaming the place. In a normal situation Aisha would ask them to go to sleep already but this time she wasn't thinking about that. She was impatient to reach her own room. Eve was following her closely. She wasn't sure what would happen once they arrived, but she wanted to find out.

Once in the room, Aisha made sure to lock the door, the last thing she wanted was to be interrupted by anyone. Eve stared at her; she almost knew what was going to happen now. She wasn't against it, but she still felt a bit awkward about it. Aisha didn't give her time to think, however.

Once the door was locked, she threw out her uniform's jacket and pushed Eve. She fell on the bed and soon was trapped under Aisha. Eve had a strange sensation of déjà vu, and immediately remembered what Elesis said days ago. But her chain of thought was wiped by the kiss Aisha placed on her neck. She pinched it a bit, sucking in the skin; trying to leave a mark. She ran a finger down Eve's body before sitting up and removing her own shirt. She was wearing a cute white bra with a purple frill on the upper part. Grabbing both Eve's hand she placed them over her breasts, gasping for a moment when her cold finger came into contact with her. Eve's icy hands grew warm from the touch and it was then that Aisha moved them under the bra's cloth without losing eye contact with Eve.

She felt Eve's hands starting to move on their own; squishing and pulling her breasts. She unbuttoned the bra and removed it prompting Eve to sit straight to get a kiss on her chest. The twitch her lips made on her nipple sent a shiver down Aisha's spine. Eve let go of it, with a little thread of saliva hanging from her lips. Aisha wanted more. She unzipped her skirt and let it down a little, enough to reveal her white panties. Like she did with her breasts, she guided Eve's hand down there, letting it slid under her underwear cloth.

Now that Eve's finger were warmer it was a lot more stimulating being touched by her. Her middle finger ran between the two sides of her opening making her body shake. Eve caressed her while still sucking her breasts; Aisha started to moan as her body shook more.

She pushed Eve down again and straddled her, trapping her arms under her legs. Not being able to move Eve felt at her mercy. Without wasting time Aisha pulled open Eve's shirt and unhooked her bra before pulling away. She caressed Eve's nipples with her fingers, arousing them until they stood hard.

With a sly giggle she looked behind and flipped Eve's skirt unveiling her pink striped panties. Aisha drew circles with her finger on top of the thin fabric that guarded Eve's sweet spot. She would also move her finger up and down between circles. Once her panties grew damp, Aisha slid her hand under the cloth. Eve gasped once her fingers started to move around her soft skin. Aisha turned to look at her; Eve had her face red and was trying to hide it with her hands. Aisha took them away and leaned to kiss her before resuming her massage. Eve started to moan, her body was getting hotter and hotter with every movement of Aisha's hand. Her hands stopped circling around and now poked the center. Eve braced herself and spread her legs a little, making room for a finger to slide in. Her body shook when she felt it going inside. There was a brief pause and now she felt a second one trying to make its way into her. She yelped when it went inside, joining the first one inside the warm folds. She was already gasping when Aisha prod a third finger against her. She looked at Eve; she was staring at her in a way that was hard to tell if she wanted her to stop or to continue. She pushed her finger further, causing Eve to grab onto the bed sheets. It slowly went in, forcing some moans out of her.

It was incredibly hot inside her, Aisha moved her hand pushing her fingers deeper. Eve could only moan and shake under the feeling, she yelled every time Aisha's fingers touched her deepest place. In return, Aisha moved her fingers in and out. Her crevice was overflowing by now, she pulled her fingers out; they were dripping the sweet liquid that damped Eve's. She looked at her and placed one of her wet fingers in Eve's mouth and waited for her to lick it clean. She licked the other two, herself. They had a bitter taste. With Eve still panting she crawled between her legs, allowing her to move again. She softly kissed her all the way down her belly until reaching her pubis. She caught the thin panties between her lips and pulled them out of the way. Aisha lifted Eve's leg and gently kissed her foot, she continued kissing her all the way to her hip, placing kisses on her ankle, her knee, her thighs, around her soft spot and then she went all the way down the other leg.

After completing her kiss course, she crawled back to Eve's waist. Eve was supporting herself on her elbows, trying to look at Aisha. There was a bit of expectation in her eyes. Aisha circled her soft pink flesh with her fingers, its warmth could be felt even from the distance. She located the soft rounded bulb and wrapped it between her lips before enveloping it with her tongue as well. Eve moaned feeling her sensible spot being teased but did nothing to prevent it. Aisha pushed it around with her tongue and shucked on it, making Eve to moan more and more. She lined her fingers again with her gap and pressed them in again. This time they slid a lot easier than before since her body was already prepared for it.

Their movements pushed Eve more and more closer to her limit. She was now shaking uncontrollably and her moans could be heard out loud. Aisha took her fingers out and used them to open her crevice. She stuck her tongue in, forcing her to yell. Moving her tongue and her head at the same time, Aisha sent waves of pleasure all along Eve's body. Eve couldn't resist more. Her back was arched, and her hands reached over her for the sheets. She culminated her orgasm into a climax. Her crevice poured her body fluids on Aisha's mouth, she waited there, drinking them.

While Eve was resting, she stood and removed the few clothes she still had on. Her waist was burning. The entire time she was pleasing Eve she was resisting the urge to touch herself. She wouldn't do that now that she was waiting for her. Aisha climbed the bed again, placing her gap on top of Eve's face. She didn't have to ask her to do anything as Eve quickly wrapped her arms around Aisha's legs and sank her face between them. Aisha looked up. Eve's tongue was working its magic, splitting her opening slowly. She even felt the faint tickle of her nose against her knob. Accompanying Eve's tongue movements, Aisha moved her hips back and forth, grinding her soft flesh against her face.

The soft tongue finally found its way in and started to reach deeper. Aisha moaned, she bit her hand to contain the yells. Seeing her distracted, Eve suddenly pushed her. Aisha fell on her back on the bed, with her knees over Eve's shoulders. Since she was still holding her legs, Aisha wasn't able to move. She felt embarrassed at how being in that position was similar to being served as a dessert to Eve. But it was also something she would enjoy. From this position Eve was able to reach even farther with her tongue. Aisha could see her golden eyes staring at hers while her tongue sunk deeper and deeper. The electricity that the pleasure was sending through her body made her yell, unable to keep her voice down anymore. Her opening was flowing out sweet water that Eve collected with her tongue. Putting Aisha down, Eve crawled over her, sticking the damp tongue out she kissed Aisha again, pushing her tongue inside her mouth. Aisha tasted almost like Eve; probably her lips gave it a sweeter taste. Eve broke the kiss, her hands went back to her crevice. With two fingers she opened it and with her other hand she pushed one finger in, making a screwing motion with it. Aisha moaned as her folds wrapped around Eve's finger. She then pulled it out and repeated the process with two fingers this time. Again, Aisha moaned, grabbing onto the sheets and bracing for what she guessed was to come. Eve pulled her two fingers out and now pressed three against her entrance, but before forcing them in, she laid next to Aisha and lead her hand to her own gap.

They exchanged looks. At the same time, both of them prodded their holes before going in. They were staring at each other while their fingers moved inside them. They didn't take their eyes apart when they moaned or yelled. As climax was drawing near for both of them, they started to move together, using their free hands to embrace each other. They muffled their moans with kisses that they broke to stare each other as climax came.

They pulled their fingers out and exchanged them, licking in each other hands. After that, they hugged tightly and kissed again, both of them wishing for the morning to never come.

* * *

The noise of the alarm clock jolted them awake. Aisha rubbed her eyes, almost forgetting what happened last night. She looked at Eve, who was rolling on the bed lazily as if she didn't want to get up. Aisha hugged her from behind.

"About last night Eve… well, I think I cleared my mind." Aisha started to say.

"Is that so?" Eve asked. Her voice sounded as if she was still half asleep.

"Yeah. You were right. If we ended up going out, we'll just go out until something important comes up for you and we get forced to part ways. I know that I'm not the kind of person to hold you back, and I wouldn't enjoy renouncing on my dreams because of that kind of reason. It really hurts my heart though because… I love you so much," Aisha sighed "But I guess it's better if we stay as friends… You were right, as always."

"I'm glad that you were able to make up your mind."

"And I also realized why you like Elesis so much," Aisha said, nudging her.

"I never said I liked her," Eve said rolling to face Aisha.

"Whatever. But I know that if the two of you end up together, then maybe you'll be able to change… Ah, forget it, I just want to enjoy this moment more," Aisha said, cuddling with her.

"You should get ready for class," Eve warned.

"But this moment will go away once we step off the bed. I just want to enjoy this a little bit more. Pretty please? Eve?" Aisha begged with her best puppy eyes.

"Alright, Aisha. But after it we'll be back to normal, and don't tell anyone about yesterday," Eve said, letting her head be hugged by Aisha.


	17. Raging Fire

**_I apologize for taking so long between updates, I had problems with my internet connection u.u_**

 ** _Hope you enjoy this :3_**

* * *

The sound of explosions filled the atmosphere. Chung took cover in a small hole in the ground as the earth around him trembled. He poked his head out to aim his cannon. After he spotted his targets he pulled the lever on his weapon, firing small guided missiles. Almost all of them hit the mark. Around him, other students were also shooting their ranged weapons.

An explosion near him knocked him back to the hole he was hiding in. He heard the whistle of Professor Q and expected her to yell. But instead it was Ethan.

"Seiker! I told you to keep an eye on the artillery!"

Chung shook of the dust and went back to his position. They were having a live ammunition drill. Even if they assured the artillery wouldn't hit them, they were told to exert caution when practicing. Unfortunately Chung was having a lot of trouble, shooting his cannon and needed a lot of time. He looked at his sides, were his companions used smaller weapons: Laser rifles and pistols, small machine guns… even one of them was using a crossbow.

"Alright. That's enough. Clean yourselves and prepare for this evening." Ethan ordered.

Chung abandoned his cover and gathered with all the other students. He was feeling a bit frustrated. So much time without practicing with his cannon made him rusty. He wondered if he would be alright on the operation they would be conducting later. On his way to the mess hall he found Raven. He was all covered in dirt, if he recalled right, sword users had a different regime than him.

After they had lunch they headed for the camp outskirts. There a group of heavy transports were stationed. They geared up and rode the vehicles, once they were on their way, their radios came up alive and the voice of Mistress Q could be heard.

"Attention students! Today you will be participating on a special exercise. We are going to visit the remnants of a battleground to learn about mop up operations."

The communication ended and after an hour they arrived at what used to be a city. Now it was a scorched landscape. Chung and Raven jumped out their car and looked around. They were at the ruins of an Arehan city. The once earthy-colored buildings were now completely scorched black from the fire. Deep craters had peppered the environment and the area hung heavy with the stench of rotting corpses. Something caught the young prince's eye: not far away from him, right next to an artillery crater was a small white gauntlet. He recognized it; it was from a Hamel armor. But once he looked at it closer, he realized there was still a hand inside of it. The bone was exposed and the skin around it was cauterized, it didn't looked like it was severed by a blade.

"Poor guy got vaporized by the artillery, or so I guess," Ethan said, approaching the student from behind.

"Vaporized? With his armor?" Chung asked in disbelief.

"No armor can protect you from the demons malice," Ethan answered before meeting with Q.

They were divided in small groups of four and tasked with a specific quest. From counting bodies to retrieving any useful material on the battlefield. Chung and Raven were tasked to "Look for survivors". However, at this point, it was kind of hopeless.

"Stay within sight range, there shouldn't be demons here but you can never be too sure." Q said, before dismissing the students.

They boarded the transport that they were assigned: a green two-seater jeep with room in the back for cargo or injured personnel. It also had some big red crosses on its sides. The engine had an awful noise, and the whole thing looked kind of old. Raven didn't pay it any mind when driving the old piece of junk at high speed through the ruin's streets.

They were looking for buildings that weren't as destroyed as the other ones. Most of the facades were still in place, however the interior of all buildings they encountered were totally destroyed. The ones that weren't leveled to the ground were full of holes. After an hour of searching, Raven saw something that caught his eye.

"Hey Chung, did you see that?"

"What?" Chung asked, following with his eyes the direction Raven was pointing.

There was a building a mile away from the battlefield. It looked untouched. The facade still had its light brown color and the surroundings were in good condition as well. But what caught Raven attention was a flash that came from it. It was short but he definitely saw a light coming from there.

"But that's out of our allowed area…" Chung groaned.

"Oh, what a pity…" Raven said, already directing the car into that place.

"Raven! Stop," Chung demanded "Before this journey started I swore to myself I wouldn't cause any more trouble!"

Ignoring his demands, Raven drove the car to this isolated building. Once they arrived they saw a sign hanging in front of the building where they could read "Clinic". It make sense that people would shelter into a clinic during an enemy attack. The door was closed, but a soft push from Chung was enough to make it fall. The smell of dust and mold welcomed them as they explored the area. The building was filled with little cages and there was only one consultation room.

"I think this is actually a veterinary clinic," Chung said, inspecting one poster about the dog's immune system.

"Whatever, lets search for the source of the light."

They searched every corner for any survivor but found none. It wasn't long before they figured the source of the light could have just been the reflection of the sun or something similar. When they were about to leave the search, they felt the ground suddenly shake. Chung tried to peek through the window to see what was going on but was suddenly pulled back by Raven.

That very moment, the jeep they were driving suddenly came smashing through the wall. They didn't have time to see what was going on, as a huge demon came crashing in with it. Chung was able to jump out of its way while the demon passed through the whole building, tearing down both side's walls. It started to crumble and both of them hurried outside before the whole thing would collapse on them. Once outside they were able to see what attacked them.

It was a tall demon. Even taller than the Elios Wrath's admiral. His skin was dark grey and he wore a black helmet that covered his entire head and almost all of his shoulders. He also had two spiky bracelets that he spun in a menacing way. His yellow eyes shined through the holes in his helmet and he charged again. Unlike his muscled body, he had two small legs that were just strong enough to carry him, if not, a little slowly.

Once in the open field they were able to easily dodge the monster charge. He attempted to stop but slide over his feet until running into another wall. He came out of it shaking the dust of him. This time his eyes targeted Raven, with a wide movement he smashed the ground causing several stones buried under the sand to get thrown at Raven. He dodged them and attempted to counterattack. Taking advantage of his speed, Raven drew close to the demon and drove his blade into the beast's belly. Unfortunately, the blade wasn't able to pierce its hide, and it bent over itself instead. The monster swept the ground in front of him with his arm, forcing Raven to step back.

"Don't just look, do something!" He shouted at Chung.

Chung shook himself out of his state of awe and quickly raised his cannon and lined up a shot at the beast. He pulled the trigger and a small shell came out of it, leaving a blue trail on its way to the creature chest. It exploded in a small cloud of blueish smoke. Once it cleared he saw the demon totally unscathed. He fired again and again, unleashing the full magazine of his weapon on the beast. A cloud of smoke hid him, and suddenly both of them saw something elevating over it. Chung looked up to see the monster's arms falling on him, threatening to crush him. He was over to avoid the hit, but the shockwave was enough to send him flying.

Raven took this chance to get close to the demon and attempted to slash through his side. The blade slid against the demon skin, causing a small cut, but not enough to make it bleed. This time he wasn't able to avoid the ascending punch that sent him flying through the window of the second floor on a near building.

Chung stood up and shook the dizziness out of his head. The demon started charging against him. He waited for him to get near and swung his cannon, connecting with the punch the demon was already throwing at him. It produced a loud sound. The sheer volume made Chung lose his balance but he was able to recover and swing the cannon again. It connected again with one of the demon's thrusts, causing the cannon to bounce back as well as the demon's arm. Chung swung it again and again. Each time their attacks clashed he would back a few steps. The demon stopped blindly punching and this time he grabbed the cannon, he pulled it out of Chung's hands and threw it away. It landed near where Raven disappeared. The demon prepared his two huge hands to crush Chung beneath when a blade came rushing, piercing the thinner skin on his armpit.

The demon growled as he grabbed onto his left shoulder, arm now immobilized. He looked back at Chung and Raven, they were already on the move. Chung rushed to retrieve his cannon while Raven attempted to exploit this new vulnerability again. The demon raised his able arm and smashed the ground with enough force to cause a shockwave that made both Chung and Raven fly off the ground. The demon tried to connect a punch with Raven while he was still mid-air, but he was fast enough to thrust his sword at the demon hand, puncturing the weaker skin between the fingers. The demon growled and stepped back. Raven regained his balance and met with Chung.

"I have an idea, follow me…"

They ran away, forcing the demon to chase them. The buildings at each side of the road trembled with each step from the mastodon. Raven stopped at a small plaza and pointed at a tall clock tower with a big bell on top of it.

"You just wait there." Raven ordered.

Chung obeyed and positioned himself in front of the tower. Raven stayed back, waiting for the demon to enter the plaza. The moment he came, Raven launched himself at the beast, ducking in the last moment avoiding one of his attacks and cutting the inner parts of his legs at the same time. The beast growled again and started chasing off him, not slowed down at all by the bleeding in his legs.

"Now Chung! Make him angry!" Raven shouted.

Chung aimed at the beast and fired salvo of small projectiles. The creature stopped pursuing Raven to head for him now. Chung changed the position of his cannon from the ground to his shoulder and pulled a different lever on the machine, causing a bigger shell to exit the barrel and exploding at the demon's chest with more strength than the previous one. The explosion caused the monster to stop, but he rose his arm over his head again, sending another hit to the ground that shook the ground. This time Raven and Chung were prepared for it, they avoided being launched into the air by stepping back.

However the shockwave caused the tall clock tower to crumble and suddenly fall precipitating its bell on top of the demon. They made a loud noise when the bell hit the demon's helmet and a huge cloud of dust rose from the crash.

"Is it dead?" Chung asked, trying to not get dust in his eyes.

He found the answer to that question when the remnants of the tower were sent flying in the air followed by the demon running at shocking speed towards him. The tall monster launched a huge punch to Chung, who was taken by surprise and not able to evade nor block it. The hit sent him flying out of sight, going through a wall. The monster then spun around and launched another punch at Raven. He raised his Nasod arm to block it but its strength was far way superior to his. Raven was sent flying as well, he was about to crash into another wall when someone grabbed him midair.

He never felt so relieved to see mistress Q in his life. Still in the air, mistress Q aimed a finger at the monster, a huge spear materialized through a blue portal and it immediately propelled itself towards the demon. It punched clean through its chest, landing right behind him, the monster seemed unaffected by the huge wound in his chest, however Q raised her finger once more and numerous smaller spears appeared. They rained over the demon, piercing and tearing it until he gave a final growl before going down.

Only then she descended from the air and left Raven on the floor. He quickly signaled her the hole in the wall were Chung's body was lodged. She however ordered him to remain quiet. There was already a group of soldiers taking care of Chung. He was unconscious and covered in blood. Q ordered Raven to go back to camp and wait there for further instructions.

* * *

Time flew by as Raven waited for more than three hours for someone to arrive. Finally Ethan appeared, his face was terrifying.

"Explain yourself," He ordered.

"We saw signals of a possible survivor and went in to investigate," Raven said "I decided it, Chung was against it since we would be out of our designated area, however I wasn't willing to leave people there to die."

"What I want to know is why you engaged in a fight with a demon without informing us."

"Our car, which contained our radio gear; got destroyed right at the start of the fight, we weren't able to outrun the creature so we tried to defend ourselves."

Ethan gave an exasperated sigh before continuing.

"If it were for me, I would have sent you to the frontline right now as a punishment. However after speaking with Principal Penensio… he decided that we should treat this as an unexpected incident… Which means you'll be sent back today. In addition, you'll be expelled from military training forever and you'll need to compensate this loss on your academic result before end of semester, which is in less than a month, by the way."

After saying what was needed, Ethan left. Raven called out to him before he could leave him.

"How's the kid?" Raven asked.

"Chung is still unconscious. If it weren't for that Hamel armor he was wearing, we'd be scraping his remains off the wall. He'll survive, with a bunch of broken bones however. I suggest you go see him now before we send you back.

Obeying his superior, Raven made his way to the white tent were injured were treated. Chung was the only one him. When Raven arrived he found him lying in a bed with both arms and a leg inside a casting. He also had some bandages around his head and face. When he saw Raven he struggled to say something.

"How are you doing?" Raven said.

"Speaking hurts… but I think I will survive. Doctor said that my armor saved me…"

As if he were summoned, a doctor dressed in white robes appeared, reading some papers outloud.

"Diagnose: Left arm's ulna broken, right arm Humerus broken, right hand carpus fragmented, right leg tibia and fibula broken, six ribs broken, sternum damaged…" The doctor stopped reading his report to look at Chung "Don't worry little boy, I've seen worse. You'll be fine, once you're back to the capital you'll be cured in less than a minute."

"Is that true? You said he has like… eleven bones broken," Raven asked.

"We've crammed him with enough painkillers to sedate an ancient phoru, he'll be fine by tomorrow, I assure you."

Someone outside the tent called the doctor's name and he stormed out.

"Well, that's military medicine for you," Raven said, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Yeah… But how did you managed to survive in one piece?" Chung asked, trying to sat down.

"Well, I'm sturdy as hell, you know. Actually I guess is because of all the Nasod parts I have in me."

Chung struggled to raise his upper body to at least be able to look at Raven. He did it with a little bit of pain, but tried his best to hide it. There was a long silence that he finally broke.

"Why do you have those Nasod parts? If you don't mind me asking."

"It's a long story… and considering that we have some time…" Raven started to say. He laid back on the bed next to Chung's and with his hands as a pillow he started narrating "I've never told you but I was already part of the army before entering the Academy. I was with the Belder troops as a recruit. I was going to be a big one there, everyone was always praising me and assuring that I had a bright future. But one day, during a simple operation to take down some bandits near the capital I got hit by an explosive. It took away my arm and most of my body, I fainted from the shock immediately and when I woke up I was in Altera. The doctors told me that I wouldn't make it unless I tried a new experimental treatment."

"Experimental? But Nasod prosthetics aren't that rare nowadays," Chung questioned.

"That would be the case for someone who lost a leg or an arm. However I've lost a lot more. They had to rebuild me. Bones, organs, muscles… All of them replaced for Nasod technology. It was incredibly painful, and actually; it still is sometimes. Good thing now I can knock myself out with some good weed."

Raven laughed and stared back at Chung. He wasn't expecting his senior to have that kind of history behind him.

"But if that's the case… why are you in the academy now?"

"Well, the operation to save my life wasn't precisely cheap, and at that moment I was a bit short of cash. However, since I was showing so positive results, I brought the attention of certain people… Our school president, for example."

"You mean President Eve?" Chung asked just to make sure.

"Yeah, she. Eve was interested in my results and she proposed to pay my treatment in exchange of me starting attending this academy. And… that's pretty much all of the story," Raven concluded.

"So, you have to do some weird tests or something like that?"

"Nope. Eve installed an analyzing chip into my body that tells her all she wants to know about it." Raven said, standing up to leave.

"Doesn't that means that she's monitoring you every time?" Chung asked.

"I don't know. I doubt she's the kind of person interested in doing that… or at least do that without telling me first. Anyway, I'm going to start packing for our leave, see you."

When Raven exited the medical tent, he saw a new skipper arrive. It was different from any other he saw before. The external plating was golden and was decorated with beautiful black metallic patterns. It was shaped as the point of an arrow, and it was really thin. What caught more his attention was that they were loading some boxes on it. He went back to the tent and described the skipper to Chung. Knowing that he was an enthusiast of those things, he hoped for him to recognize the model.

"Oh, is one of these out there?" Chung asked, already excited "It's an Elysian Supersonic skipper. The fastest machine in existence can travel faster than sound. I'm surprised there is one of them here; I've heard that only seven of them were made and all of them belong to the Elysian Royalty."

Raven didn't need to hear anything more. It was obvious what they were loading in there, the Elum he heard about before. It was weird though, were would they be taking it?

* * *

The night was about to come and Elesis was still trapped into the photography club, waiting for the activity of the day to end. Even when she likes taking photos, all the other activities of the group, such as revealing photos or criticize photos taken by professionals; were really boring for her. Once the leader decided to let her go, she stormed out, looking at the clock. She had to run for it if she wanted to make it to her shift at her workplace.

She was carrying her things in a hurry when she saw an already familiar face in front of the school.

"Going to work? Do you want me to take you there?" Eve asked, standing next to her was Zadkiel, holding the door of her car.

Elesis hesitated for a moment but a new look at her clock convinced her to accept the ride. She boarded the big black vehicle and they headed to the mall.

"How are things going?" Eve asked.

"Fine, I guess," Elesis answered, looking at her "And what about you?"

"Same as always," Eve answered.

"Really? I feel like you're really happy today. If it weren't because I doubt it I would say that you fucked tonight,"

Eve ignored the commentary looking away and said "Things just happen to be going smoothly lately. I have to say that the fact that you're not causing any more trouble anymore may have something to do."

Elesis laughed. She threw her arms over the car's seat and looked around. There was still some time until they would reach the destination, so the silence started to take over, forcing Elesis to say something.

"Only two weeks left for Winter Break, have any plans?"

"I have work to do."

"You're going to spend Winter Break in that tower, filling documents?" Elesis asked in disbelief.

"Most likely."

"Oh, come on! That's lame."

"What about you?" Eve asked, finally looking back at her.

"I… have work to do too. But I think I'll have some free time after the first week…" Elesis admitted.

"So you're not that different."

"I thought you'd be spending it in a hotel on a snowy mountain with your purple haired pet." Elesis joked.

"That would be lovely, but Aisha has to spend the vacation with her family, and they have a very strict policy of only family allowed for some reason, so I can't spend the Winter Break with her."

"Well… this is probably going to sound weird to you but… What if you work extra hard so when I have free time we could go on a vacation?" Elesis proposed.

"You're… asking me to go on a trip with you?" Eve asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. I want to pay you back for all the help you gave me these days and… why not? We could set aside our previous differences… or whatever." Elesis explained.

There was a pause, Eve seemed to be considering it.

"Alright Elesis, I'll try to be free so we can go on a trip."


	18. Going Around

_**I want to thank Kiyoshiin for helping me in proofreading and editing this chapter 3**_

* * *

The last week of the semester started lively. The students will celebrate the end of the semester this weekend and the school grounds were gonna be busy again with the arrangements. However this time, the party will be held inside due to the cold. Aisha was getting ready to go to school for the day. It was earlier than usual but it couldn't be helped, since the student council was busy again. She left the dorms in a hurry and rushed to the place she usually meets with Eve. It wasn't too far from school but it was enough for a gentle morning walk. She was about to arrive when she saw the student council president already waiting for her and, to Aisha's disgust; someone else was with her. She slowed down her pace when she saw Elesis next to Eve.

"Good morning Aisha," Eve politely said, leaning lightly.

"Hey, vice-president," Elesis saluted raising one hand at her.

The mage doubted at Elesis for a while before returning the bow with her greetings. She stared daggers at Elesis before whispering to Eve.

"Why is she here?"

"We met on the way here," Eve answered, loud enough for Elesis to hear "Let's go, we'll be late if we waste time here."

The president and the ex-delinquent walked together casually chatting while Aisha followed the two by some steps away. Her mind went through an inside monologue about those two were she continuously wondered what was going on. Not only had Elesis been stealing away of her precious Eve but now she also has to share her on the only times the two of them would usually be alone. It was getting on her nerves, however; since she had already decided to give up on Eve, she tried her best to let that go.

Finally they reach the school and Elesis went away to head for her classroom. Eve looked at Aisha, clearly expecting her to protest or lecture her, but Aisha just stay silent and walked along her to their council room.

"Eve, can I ask you for permission to get an appointment with Elesis?" Aisha said once they were in the safety of the council room. The strange way Aisha asked it confused Eve.

"You don't need my permission to do that Aisha," She answered, prompting her to elaborate.

"I meant if it would be okay to take some time from her busy schedule."

Eve quickly thought about it and told Aisha what hours Elesis was free. Aisha expected Eve to ask why did she wanted to meet with Elesis, but luckily she didn't.

Even if Aisha had already decided to give up, it didn't mean that Elesis would have her path clear. She wasn't willing to let Eve fall in such unworthy hands, and she would do anything to avoid that to happen. She would prefer it for Eve to marry Herbaon as planned before going out with that delinquent. She asked one of her colleagues to send her a note with the place and hour. She wouldn't reject it if it was from the council. She left out her name from the note, so Elesis could figure out it was Eve the one sending it.

The place she chose to see her was a coffee shop outside the school grounds, since she didn't want to discuss that with her in a place that they could be seen by other students. With that plan in mind the day quickly passed for her and soon she was waiting on the coffee shop. As expected, Elesis showed up on the required hour and she searched the place as if she were looking for the silver haired president. But instead found the vice-president waiting for her, and immediately drew a face of disgust that quickly tried to hide.

"What is it this time, vice-president?" Elesis reluctantly said, walking next to her.

"Shouldn't you be greeting me before saying that at least? And take a seat, this will be long," Aisha said, gesturing towards and empty seat.

Elesis took it unwillingly and looked around. She didn't paid attention to it but the place had an excessive way of using cloth as decoration. Wherever she looked, there was fringes. There was long blinds with lots of fringes, the cushions on the seats had fringes, the tablecloth had fringes that almost reach the ground. Even the waitress wore a long skirt with fringes all the way. And oddly enough, the most used color in the room was purple, mixed with bits of white and pink.

"This place is one of my favorites when it comes to have a relaxing cup of coffee, I recommend you ordering the special one," Aisha said, sipping her cup.

"Please go straight to the point I can't waste time here, I should be in the library in less than an hour and after that I'll go to work," Elesis said, ignoring her recommendations.

She ordered coffee with ice. Aisha wasn't happy with her way of acting. It was clear that she wanted to run away from there as soon as she could, so she decided to do as she said and go straight to the point.

"Eve is a busier person than you think. She doesn't have time to waste as well. I know that she accepted helping you but that is only because she's too good for her own self."

What Aisha just said shocked Elesis. She wasn't expecting her to speak about Eve. Elesis was sure that the vice-president wanted to scold her for whatever reason. She was about to reply but Aisha continued speaking.

"I don't know if you know it already, but Eve is already engaged with someone, a very important person from the Elysium and whatever you have in mind with her won't work," Aisha stopped to check at Elesis reaction. She was froze in place, not sure what to answer back, so she continued to press the matter "And I also heard about your plans to take her with you on a trip during this winter break. What were you thinking? Asking her to get rid of her work just in time so you can go have fun? Do you even realize how hard her work already is? I guess a plebeian like you wouldn't know, but her fiancé will be visiting Altera during this winter break, and they have lots of things to do, preparing the ceremony one of them."

Aisha was about to continue rambling but the sound of Elesis's cup hitting the table, interrupting her. Even some of the nearest customers stopped talking to look in their direction.

"Are you done?" Elesis asked in a rude way. Without waiting for her response, she stood up and walked away.

She rushed outside the coffee shop and walked at a fast pace, not heading for the school but for her workplace rather. She was walking with her eyes fixated on the ground, thinking about what she just heard. Eve was engaged? Was that true? And why would she accept going on a trip with her if she was that busy. Or more importantly, Elesis wondered why she reacted in this way to all of this. She couldn't care less about who Eve was going to get marry with and yet there she was, getting really angry about it.

She arrived at the mall, went through the employees' door and slipped inside her bunny outfit. Even with the cold weather, the suit was surprisingly warmth. She grabbed one of the trays waiting to be served and headed to the designated booth. She wasn't feeling like doing her work today, but she didn't have a choice. The first person she attended turned out to be a pair of friends who didn't knew this was "One of those bars". They quickly ran away, as if they were scared of being seen in the place, but luckily for her they did paid their drinks. Elesis wondered however what they would be expecting from a bar hid on such a place, and with such ambience.

She went back to refill her tray but then her manager managed to catch up with her.

"That girl that always asks for you is here."

Elesis nodded at him and quickly went to the both. She didn't even bother to take the tray with her. There was only one person that could adjust to that description.

* * *

"You're lucky to be students, if you were already soldiers, you would have faced a martial court," Ethan said. The ride that would soon take Raven and Chung back to Altera was about to take off and the professor wanted to wait to scold them until they were onboard. Chung was barely able to move on his own so he had to be boarded on a hospital gurney. There wasn't much space inside the ship. There wasn't any other crew member on board though; apparently the ship was able to fly fully automated to its destination. Once all the boxes were loaded, Ethan gave them some last parting words "The controls on that skyship are blocked, so don't bother touching anything. And don't disturb the cargo boxes either. Have a safe trip." He warns.

The ship retracted its access stairs and powered up the engines. It was incredibly loud despite its small size. It began to slowly ascend vertically until it was high enough for the engines to stop kicking up dust on the ground. The wings retracted, emphasizing its arrow shape and the engines roared with power. It started gaining speed at an amazing pace. Chung and Raven felt pressed against their seats as the ship had easily surpassed the speed of sound. The days long journey they made aboard the battleship will be done in less than an hour with this ship.

Raven stood up from his seat as soon as the sky ship had stabilized. The ship was so cramped that the cargo bay wasn't separated from the control room of where they were. He opens up one of the boxes and confirmed his suspicions. The Elum wine was loaded there and heading for the island again. It didn't make sense. He saw it first aboard the Elios Wrath, but why would they send it outside if they were planning to make it go back? More importantly, it was a huge cargo. The price it could fetch on the black market would be amazing. He felt tempted, but it was impossible to get a hold of it right now. He looked at Chung, who was half asleep on the stretcher. In only one year the little guy went through more than a prince should, and Raven couldn't help but feel like it was partly his fault. Chung wasn't that rebellious before meeting him. He sighed and left the cargo alone, he would think about something else later.

The ship started to slow down as Altera was already on sight. Raven sat again and fastened in his seatbelt as the ship began its automatic approaching maneuvers. It lined up with the landing track and slowed down until it was smoothly touching down on the ground. Once they were fully stopped, a group of people gathered outside of the ship. The doors opened and both of them disembarked. The hangar staff tended to Chung while also ordering Raven to return to the school to resume his usual schedule. They boarded Chung in another skipper with a big red cross on one of its sides over the word "Hospital". Raven waves at him as the small skipper took off and then he started to leave when he saw many police cars arriving at the place. Thinking it had something to do with him, he froze in place, but soon felt confused when the cars passed by him and surrounded the ship. From one of them, Jack and Connors emerged, showing their identifications.

"We're seizing this ship and its contents under the suspect of a smuggling operation!" Jack yelled approaching the ship and shoving aside the hangar's staff.

Raven scratched the back of his head. He didn't know what was going on; the only thing he knew for sure was that the valuable wine was now under police supervision. And he just thought of stealing it. This development will surely make things harder, but with Chung out of the scene, he could come up with something. All he needed now is the help of the gang.

* * *

"What are you doing here?"

Elesis entered the booth where Eve was waiting for her. She left the trail on the table and sat next to her, leaning to hear her response over the loud music. Unlike last time, today the bar was open, and that means that overly loud music was going to be played all night long. As much as she leaned towards her, she couldn't figure what the president was saying. She gave up and grabbed her by the hand before standing up and dragging her along. They exited the booth and walked across the bar into a small hallway with doors on both sides. They entered one and closed it, muffling the song outside causing it to sound like a distant and small noise.

The room they were in was barely illuminated and the only things there was a red armchair and a long pole on top of a slightly elevated stage.

"Is this some kind of striptease room?" Eve questioned, sitting on the only available seat.

"Don't get the wrong idea, I just brought you here so we can talk," Elesis said, leaning against the stage edge in front of her "So, what are you doing here?"

"Aisha talked to you this evening, outside the school. I wanted to know what you talked about."

"Is that so? Are you actually willing to pay for the entrance fee and to risk being seeing in this place just to ask me that?" Elesis questioned raising an eyebrow.

"I figured out that you wouldn't pick up my calls if you were working so I thought this would be the best way to contact you," Eve explained "So, what did you two talk about?"

Elesis straightened up and walked next to her, sitting on one of the armrests.

"She told me that you were doing all this for me because _you're too good for yourself_ " She said mimicking Aisha way of speaking "And she also told me about… the things you were going to do during winter break with your future husband."

Eve moved in her position to face Elesis "She told you about the marriage?" Elesis nod at her and the president looked down as if she were picking her words.

"Eve, are you helping me because you feel obligated?" Elesis asked, looking her in the eyes. She knew how easy the Nasod would manipulate someone else just to achieve her goals. It was the part of her that she disliked the most. Not sure if she would be able to tell if she was lying or not, she still wanted Eve to tell her.

"No, nobody forced me on helping you," She answered.

"Not even yourself?" Elesis asked.

"No, as I said before I would help any student without exception."

It was an answer as good as any. She didn't know what to expect. What Aisha said shouldn't have affected her, but it did for some reason. She sighed and as she did, she felt a warm hand on her back. She looked at Eve and saw her staring back at her with worried eyes. Her attempt at consoling her was kind of cute. Without making any more questions she stood and left. Elesis felt the day a bit brighter now.

The next day Eve went alone to the school, she chose to arrive specially early so she could get part of her work done. And she was surprised when she encountered Aisha already there, working on her papers.

"Aisha, it's still two hours early, why are you here?" Eve questioned, getting her things ready on her desk.

"I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep so I thought I could get here and get some work done," She explained.

As weird as it was, Eve decided to simply ignore her and started working. It was so early in the morning that the sun wasn't out yet, however the street lamps were turned off. The moon was the only thing illuminating the outside, giving it a beautiful look. As Aisha was working, she realized how Eve was constantly checking her Elshard, she even sent some messages with it.

"Chatting while working? That's not very proper of you, Eve." Aisha stated as she walked next to her.

"I'm not chatting. I'm informing Elesis that I'm here so she doesn't wait for me to walk to school."

"Did that become something usual already?" Aisha asked her, hanging her arms around Eve's neck, resting her chin on top of her head.

"Since I started managing her schedule, I'm trying to make sure she's using it. And stop doing that, I have work to do and I presume that you too."

But instead of leaving her alone, Aisha spun Eve's chair to face the mage. She caressed the president's cheek and slowly approached her lips. She licked them softly, not getting any reaction from Eve more than being pushed away. Her gaze, however, wasn't that of one who's angry.

"Stop doing that, we talked about this already. What happened the other day will stay like that." Eve said, getting back to her work.

But the vice-president didn't give up. Aisha spun her chair again, this time jumping on her lap. She held Eve's arms by the wrists and pushed them against the backrest as she kisses her again. Trying to catch her lips between hers and attempting to get her tongue through, Aisha felt the president trying to free herself. However, as she wasn't able to do so, her resistance began to soften. Aisha was starting to think she won when something hard hit her head. She stumbled feeling dizzy from the shock and as she regained her balance she saw the drone Remi hovering over its master head, glaring at her with threatening tiny robotic eyes.

"I can only tolerate your childish demeanor this much, Aisha. If you wish to continue I'll be forced to retaliate," Eve states.

Aisha growled causing the small drone to beep at her. She went back to her chair and stared away from her.

"I was just joking, there wasn't any need to hit my head," Aisha said while pouting, before resuming her work.


	19. Street War

Night was falling and the usual bar was about to close. The usual patrons still inside, all except one. Raven reunited the band leaders for a talk, however Elesis was missing, and considering the recent events, she won't be coming back. However, her parting left some problems behind her that Raven needed to address.

Three of the gang's leaders stood in protest.

"To tell you the truth, I was in this gang just for that hottie."

"Elesis promised us a good deal of money and I'm still waiting to see it. And she just left without even explaining anything to us."

"And to top it off she's with the president all day now, she totally abandoned us…"

Raven massaged his eyes, waiting for the leaders to say what was necessary before finally butting in.

"Are you done?" He asked, standing up "If you're finished crying like hungry babies I gathered you today to discuss a serious matter. First, while it's true that Elesis is no longer our leader, I acknowledge her reasons, if you have any resentment towards her, I invite you to go and tell her, directly, instead of using me as some kind of middleman."

They all averted their gazes, not willing to face their former leader, much less verbally express their discontent to her face.

"That aside, I have important news," Raven said, sitting down again and lowering his voice.

He told them about the Elum he saw being transported outside and inside Altera. Although they were pretty disgusted just a moment ago, they all seemed interested in it. However, they all remained skeptical as he went on with the details.

"That sounds nice and all, but if it was confiscated we can't really do anything about it," The tallest of them said.

"You're sure there's nothing we can do?" Raven asked "As far as I know, the police doesn't destroy evidence as valuable as this when they get a hold of it."

"Are you suggesting we steal this from the police?" The same leader asked back, feeling a bit shocked.

Raven nodded. Nobody said anything for a while.

"This is going to end like all the other times. We'll set up an elaborate plan and when we turn up to the place, we'll come up empty handed with the police arresting no one else but us, again." One of them said.

"Are you not forgetting something?" Raven asked again, prompting them to fall silent, "Don't you remember how the police is pursuing Elesis? Now that she broke ties with us, they must be confused, I bet they don't even expect us to do anything."

They gave it some thought. It was true that Elesis leaving the gang left them more in the shadows than ever, for good or for bad. But, even considering that the police wasn't ahead of them, there was still the fact that the police storehouse for confiscated goods wasn't as unprotected as an abandoned shed.

"You better have a plan, Raven."

"I do, but we'll discuss it later, for now inform the rest of the crew, I have to make some arrangements before we can start with it. However, keep in mind that this will be our last operation, if we succeed we'll have enough money for the rest of our lives. If we fail we'll have to hide for a very long time."

With that said, they all stood up and left, allowing the bar owner to finally close its doors.

* * *

A large group of students gathered around the hospital bed Chung was lying in. Flowers and chocolates had been stacked on the nightstand at his bedside.

"Chung, I told you not to get hurt!" Ara complained puffing her cheeks.

"It's not like I did it on purpose…" Chung apologized with a nervous smile on his face.

"But to think you faced a big demon, is pretty impressive," Rena added, looking at Rose who nodded in agreement.

"But in the end, Professor Q finished it off," He said.

Someone knocked on the door and Raven came in, accompanied by Elsword. He looked at his bedridden friend from head to toe before speaking.

"Man I heard you were beaten to a pulp but you looks pretty fine to me. You're such a cry baby." Elsword said laughing, earning a look of disapproval from Ara.

"I almost healed completely," Chung started to say.

"Yeah, you should have seen him when we took him back to the camp. He had to be spoon fed," Raven interrupted, chuckling.

Chung protested, feeling embarrassed in front of his friends. Someone knocked on the door again and Aisha came in first, followed by Eve and Elesis.

"Good afternoon Chung," She said "You know, I actually think you let that demon hit you so you didn't had to continue your forced labor to our council…" Aisha said, getting next to him and examining his wounds.

Chung laughed at her comment and looked at the other two visitors.

"I'm glad you're recovering well, Chung Seiker," Eve said.

"That's right kid, you gave us all a big scare getting your ass kicked out there," Elesis added.

With everyone inside, the small hospital room soon felt crowded, and a nurse came complaining and asking them to go outside. As they filed out, Raven remained behind, patiently waiting until the door shut and he was alone with Chung.

"I'm glad to see you doing well, I actually came here to ask you a favor," Raven started to say "The doctor said you'll be leaving hospital by tomorrow so I thought you could help the gang out on some little operation."

"I'm sorry Raven, but I will have to decline this time. After seeing that battlefield up close I've made up my mind," Chung said, causing Raven to look at him in expectancy, "I really wanted to live these school years as carefree as I could, but now I've decided that, as soon as I graduate here, I'll study in Hamel's military institution like my father did. I want to help driving the demons out of our world!" Chung eyes shined with determination and Raven couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, hero boy. But at least let me explain. This time I won't be involving you, I just need you to call me at my Elshard when the time comes. Think you could do it?"

Chung scratched his head, unsure of what Raven meant, but he didn't explained further.

"I'll tell you once you're out of this place."

Gather information is an easy task when you want to know what are the students of a certain school doing or where is a specific thing being kept. But involving the police complicates the situation. After days of questioning all kind of shameless delinquents, Raven realized he was almost as far as when he started. At least he was starting to have a small plan on how to get the goods.

Everything that the police confiscated is usually stored on the police station. However, for high-value evidence, like a ton of Elum bottles; they use a warehouse in the outskirts. While not as crowded as the police station itself, the warehouse they used to keep them are stored with a much tighter security system.

Raven's informants scouted a 24/7 Nasod patrol schedule, with everything you can imagine: dogs, snipers, sensors… It was a crazy job for a group of students. Luckily for him, however, Raven was able to pick out the windows of least security.

Every winter, in Altera; rulers from other lands gather to celebrate a special meeting in order to show their bond and good intentions to the people. The star of the gathering was the assistance of these guest to a play celebrated on the city's amphitheater. Since so many VIPs were going to gather in that place, the police needs to deploy almost all of its resources to protect them. It was their best chance to enter the building.

But it couldn't be so easy. With fewer wards there it was possible, but if they managed to go through the exterior wall they'll have to face a lot of high-tech security measures.

"It's crazy, no matter how you look at it."

One of the gang leaders slammed the people which everyone was sat around. They met at a secret location somewhere outside the school grounds to discuss their course of action. Along the gang leaders, almost every other member was there. Excluding Chung, and, of course; Elesis.

"Calm down," Raven said "Crazy doesn't mean impossible. Now listen: It doesn't matter how strong the security is, the police won't fire at a group of students. We'll divide into two groups. One will come with me and enter the building, we'll get as close as we can to the product while the other team will prepare our escape route. It doesn't matter if we're discovered, as I said they won't shoot at us, that means that we'll just grab a box and run. One box per member, we'll need a total of ten."

"They don't shoot at students until those students start working on smuggling operations," someone between the members said.

"If you're scared you can stay at home. We'll share the loot equally between all of us, and once this is over, we'll disappear. That means, this will be our last chance to strike it big. Afterwards this we vanish. All of you who don't want that, should stay at home and forget about all of this."

There was some mumbling between the crowd, but nobody left the room yet.

"Raven, what about those two hounds from the mafia police that are watching over us,"

"I already have that covered. I discovered that they have to attend the play with the rest of the police. Apparently there was an anonymous tip-off about the mafia families targeting the party. I'll have Chung call me when those two show up. He'll be watching the play with his father, which means that the security will be near them."

The leader looked at each other. The plan was really risky. They could get caught or worse, not to mention that they'll have to abandon the city. After all their hard work to make that place comfortable for them, leaving like this was a bit unsettling. But they'll have to leave sometime, and this was the best chance to do so. After some thought, they all decided to make the plan happen.

* * *

The winter meeting of the country leaders was a tradition that started when humanity started winning the war against the demons as a way to celebrate the powerful alliance that pushed them back.

A knock came at the door.

"It's open."

Chung was preparing his luggage in his room. With his injuries recovered he planned on expending winter break with his family back in Hamel. The door opened and Ara came in, accompanied by Rena. He greeted them with a nod while carrying some clothes into a big bag.

"Are you busy? We can come later," Ara said, looking at the amount of clothes lying around the room, waiting to be packed. Chug shook his head and put down the clothes.

"No need, I'm just preparing for winter break since I'll be spending it at home. Aren't you two going back home too?" He asked.

"We don't celebrate winter arrival in our home town," Rena said "Ara, I'll be going then. See you tomorrow."

Rena stepped out of the room, leaving Chung to wonder why she even bothered coming. Going by the hour he guessed it was her time to work on the disco. Ara sat on the edge of the bed and she gestured for him to sit next to her. The young man dropped what he was doing and did so.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, looking for any trace of a wound.

"I'm perfectly fine," Chung answered, flexing his arms upwards as if he were trying to show off his muscle. Ara chuckled seeing this.

"So, will you go back to Hamel the next week?"

Chung nodded "Yeah, we usually spend our holidays on a beach house. Aren't you going back?"

"No. My home is a bit far away and it would be expensive. And actually I don't feel like going. The family gathers by this time of the year and some members of my family are a bit… overwhelming."

Chung laughed.

"I know that feeling. My family too can be excessively attentive sometimes. Especially when you're the prince. Everyone wants to get in your good side so much that is tiring. But father told me that I should cherish my family even when they're so boring. You never know when someone close to you could go away, that's why."

This time it was Ara who laughed.

"You're such a good boy. But I don't think people close to me could just disappear one day. Anyway…" She said, leaning near him "I actually came today to ask you something. I heard you were going to that big play so I was wondering if we could go together."

Chung scratched his head before answering, not sure what she meant.

"But aren't all of us already going together? Well it's true that I'll be sitting with my father at one of those reserved seats but…"

"I'm asking you on a date, you idiot," Ara interrupted, jokingly hitting the back of his head.

"Oh… Oh! I'm sorry," He said, nervously laughing, the atmosphere suddenly felt a bit tense "I… would love to attend the play with you, Ara."

Ara smiled at him and stood up. She headed outside and turned away at the door to say goodbye.

"I will wear a white dress, see you."

Chung continued preparing his luggage when someone else knocked on the door. He greeted them and Eve entered the room. She was carrying a folder full of small tickets. She handed one over Chung and he looked at it. It was the invitation to the play. As students of Empress Academy, everyone was receiving a free first class ticket for the play.

"Chung, can I ask you a favor?" Eve said, putting the folder away.

"What is it?"

"Can you ask your father to wear something else this year?" She asked with a tired tone.

"Something else?"

"He always presents himself clad in that armor of his. This is a peace celebration, not a war meeting." Eve explained.

"Oh, you mean that. I don't think I can convince him, besides of being King of Hamel he is a white paladin too."

Eve sighed, clearly annoyed.

"As a King he should know that there is more to ruling a kingdom than fighting. Why does he wants to wear that scrap metal nowadays?"

"Hey! If it weren't for that _scrap metal_ I would have been a stain against a wall," Chung protested.

"You wouldn't become a stain if you followed your teacher orders!" Eve yelled at him.

"Yeah… but…" Chung said, but suddenly stopped.

Eve grabbed him by the ear and pulled strong enough to lift him in the air.

"Where is your armor now?! After all the trouble you have caused how dare you talk back to your student president? No armors allowed in the theatre, end of discussion!"

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry, please put me down," Chung begged trying to free himself from her. She was surprisingly strong, but he was more surprised by her way of behavior.

"What's with you Eve, you never act like this."

"I apologize, but this event always brings out the worst in me. You can't imagine how tiring is to have Hamel and Belder royalty gathered in one place for an extended period of time. I'd rather not celebrate this every year…"

"… There's a variant of the armor that is designed for special occasions, like giving medals to heroes and such… will that be enough?" Chung asked, rubbing his reddened ear.

Eve sighed and nodded, knowing she wouldn't get anything better from that stubborn man.

* * *

The day finally arrived. The big play wasn't going to be the only event of the night. Every major street in the city was full of people going to different parties. A lot of Sky ships arrived, bringing people from all places around the globe. It was probably the most massive celebration prior to winter holidays.

The school was chaotic at this hour of the day. From students getting ready to attend the play to others who planned on skipping it to go out and have fun on their own. Aisha was heading for the central tower where she would meet with Eve. She was wearing a small black dress with a big black ribbon on the back. She wasn't wearing her usual pigtails, instead she chose to have her hair straightened covering her back.

As she arrived she spotted Elesis, already waiting in the front gate. She was wearing a long red dress that hugged her skin with high heels. She also changed her hairstyle for the night by doing a braid around the back of her head and straightening the rest. Aisha greeted her with few words, still not feeling comfortable around the former delinquent. Elesis paid it no mind, she always found it funny how uneasy the vice-president was around her.

They entered the tower and headed for Eve's house. The long ride on the elevator was so uncomfortable that Aisha decided to say something to break the silence.

"Did Eve ask you to escort her?"

"No, she said she would be busy with all the big fishes. I'm just accompanying her there."

The doors opened revealing Eve's big house. Elesis remembered last time she was here she left in a rather bad way. Fortunately, nobody here seemed to have a grudge against her about that. Unlike last time, the place was full of servants this time. They were preparing a big party in the garden, probably for the guests Eve was going to attend tonight. They knocked on the door and Artemisa was the first person to come.

"Welcome my ladies… Oh, Elesis, nice to see you here again," The Nasod maid said with a beaming smile, causing Aisha to raise an eyebrow. The maid noticed this and cleared her throat "If you may accompany me."

They entered the building and were guided to a small room. It was the guests' room where Elesis was questioned by Connors and Jack. Another long silence that Aisha broke again.

"Do you really like her?"

"What?" Elesis wondered, already knowing the answer.

"Eve. Do you like her?" Aisha asked again.

"Doesn't everyone like her?" Elesis answered. Aisha sighed and ignored her for the rest of the wait.

Artemisa came again to announce Eve arrival. Both girls walked out the room and waited in front of the hall's stairs. All the servants in the house gathered around there to receive their master. Eve walked down the stairs, dazzling everyone with her outrageous dress.

She was wearing a long black dress that didn't leave much to the imagination. The skirt was open in the front, showing her legs; and yet was still long enough to drag behind her, having Moby and Remy hold it from the edges. The upper part of the dress was an X shaped cloth that covered her breasts and went around her neck, leaving both her shoulders and her back uncovered as well as her belly and navel through a diamond shaped uncovered part. She also painted her lips with bright red lipstick and had her hair collected in a bun with chopsticks. Her pale skin shined under the light, highlighting her white smooth neck.

Elesis stared at her, eyes wide open. She realized she might be looking quite weird so she looked away only to see Aisha equally stunned.

"Eve, you look gorgeous," Aisha said, walking around her. Elesis felt a sudden surge of jealousy. She wanted to be the one saying that.

"Yeah, you're amazing tonight, Eve."

Eve nodded acknowledging their compliments and starting to head outside she said:

"Someone needs to teach those uncivilized apes how you attend a regal party."


	20. Party Time

The night came and almost all citizens gathered in front of the huge theater, they formed a corridor in front of it waiting to see the celebrities that were about to arrive. Coming into luxurious limousines, one by one, all the guests from other lands arrived, ranging from stunning beautiful actors and actresses, to renowned politicians and nobles. One red painted limousine stopped there and from it came a blonde gorgeous man who easily caused a wave of screams came in his way. He was the prince of Belder. Soon, a white and bigger car stopped and from it emerged the huge king of Belder: Helputt. From the same car came Chung, and surprisingly to everyone he tend a hand to help someone else stop out the car: Ara. Even if the people didn't know her, they still cheered the trio. Apparently, Chung was half-successful in convincing his father to wear something more correct for the day. However it turned out to be a really stretched tuxedo coat over his own white shining armor. The small piece of cloth seemed to be about to burst under the giant's movements.

Another limousine arrived, causing an even greater stir. The queen stepped out of it, causing everyone to drop jaws to seeing her in the outrageous dress. She elegantly walked over the small group of nobles still there, staring in awe. Gently bowing at them, she gestures to the group to move inside the theater.

A rain of flashes bathed the group as they entered the theater. Chung rubbed his eyes in an attempt to protect them from the amount of blinding lights and wondered how everyone else could stand it.

"I see that your fathers aren't here," Eve said, once they were inside and on their way to their reserved spot.

"I apologize in their name, my queen," the blonde man said, bowing to her "But as you know, their health isn't as good as it used to be, and they decided to stay at home."

"I guess they also want you to become a useful heir…" Eve whispered. The blonde man smiled and bowed again. He grabbed her hand softly lifted it.

"They do. It's very thoughtful of you to worry about me…" There was something in his smile that put Chung on edge. He looked at his father and he leant to whisper something at his child:

"He acts all high and mighty but Eve has been rejecting all his attempts at flattery ever since he was a small kid."

They finally arrived at the big box reserved for the VIPs. It was on the farthest wall from the stage, above the normal public seats. It was decorated with red velvet and gold and with its own team of butlers and maids. As they were sitting, Chung saw a figure he easily recognized.

"Your majesty, it's an honor to be her tonight. I ensure to you that my presence here will grant your safety," Lieutenant Connors said.

Eve bowed at her and so did the prince of Belder and Helputt. The agent went away and disappeared behind the curtains and Chung took out his Elshard to make a quick call.

* * *

"Thanks," Raven said, hanging up "Listen boys, Chung just confirmed that Connors is in the party, I'll bet that Jack is with her,"

They were in the back of a truck that was moving towards their destination: the police warehouse. Everyone gathered around a map of the building, Raven obtained it through his contacts, and wasn't really sure if the map was reliable or not, but it was all that they had.

"As you can see, after we enter the enclosure, there's a sewer entrance right next to the wall. The sewer that enter the building from the outside are blocked, but this one should be enough to take us to the storage rooms. Once there I won't need to tell you what to do, we simply grab boxes and get the fuck out from the sewer. We'll have to throw them over the walls, so be ready to catch them, our client won't drink smashed bottles. Any question?"

"What if something happens?"

"We storm out of there. No violence, don't try to fight against them. We are dressed in our uniforms so at least they won't shot at us on sight but if we give them reasons don't doubt they'll do. Remember: We are just a bunch of stupid teenagers that want to get high on this Elum."

The truck finally stopped and the doors on the rear opened. The chilly wind of the night greeted them as they got ready. The police warehouse was a large building surrounded by tall walls. On each corner of its walls, there was a taller tower with spotlights and some guards. Usually the place would be also surrounded by patrols but since most of the police was at the amphitheater the place was quite empty.

They approached the wall as a small group, the plan was to climb it once the spotlights moved away. In order to create a distraction, Raven had ordered some of his comrades to make noise on the opposite wall.

There was a car parked there one of the gang's member conveniently parked there earlier. As they received the signal from Raven, another delinquent smashed the car's window with a bat. The car alarm rang and both of them started to yell at each other.

"What are you doing you asshole?!"

"You're trying to steal my girlfriend from me!"

As the noise went up, the spotlights moved to focus on the disturbance, and a pair of guards left their position to go see what was going on.

"Ok… boys, what are you doing this late at night?" The guard said approaching the yelling students and both of them started to blame each other for either damaging the car or flirting with their couple.

It was their chance, Raven and the most agile of the gang jumped towards the wall. Raven was able to catch the edge in just one attempt, and he quickly climbed on top of it to lend a hand to his partners. The sewer entrance was exactly where the map suggested. Although it was quite heavy, Raven easily lifted it with his Nasod arm. One by one every delinquent entered the sewer.

The sewer was a one way tunnel with barely enough space to stand. One of the directions, right under where the wall would be, there was a large metallic barrier with a complex system of tubes that allowed the water to flow in and out. Guided by their Elshard's flashlights, they headed into the other direction. According to the map, there should be another access to the sewers just a few meters ahead.

It was going smoothly until Raven stopped everyone with a gesture of his hand. Right in front of him there was many small devices attached at both sides of the walls.

"Movement sensors… that's why we brought those small toys…" Raven said, prompting one of the members to pass him a bag full of spider like machines. The moment he let them on the ground, they immediately started crawling over the walls, placing themselves next to the devices. Once they all were in position they flashed a green light. Raven gestured to the group to pass through, going him in the last place.

They finally reached the access. Raven was the first to climb the hand stairs and peek over the edgy, gently lifting the heavy metallic cover. They were under a dark room. The only light that entered it was the one coming from beneath the doors. Raven came out of the hole and lighted up his lighter. He thought it would be less noticeable than a flashlight. Right in front of his eyes where the loot he was looking for.

"Alright, grab a box and get into the sewers again," He whispered to his comrades. There was an uneasy feeling in the air. He felt like it was all too easy. There should be some kind of patrol, or at least a surveillance camera.

They carried the boxes along the sewers, back to the enclosure's walls. It seemed that the diversion they created was still going, since the guards moved from the tower to the street. As planned they threw the boxes over the walls. In mere seconds, they were again at the back of the truck, this time surrounded by Elum crates.

"Yeah!" One of the members of the gang cheered, soon accompanied by the others. While everyone was cheering on their success, Raven was sitting with a hand over his mouth, looking at the ground with his mind full of thoughts.

"What's the matter? I thought you would look more happy about our success."

"It was too easy. I feel like there is something wrong…" Raven answered, abandoning his position to examine the Elum.

"Forget about it, we'll be in the airfield in a moment, and then out of this damn island with millions in our pockets."

The truck drove to the airfield outskirts. There, a small skyship was waiting for them. It was already powering its engines, ready to take off at any minute. They started to load the Elum aboard.

While they were distracted loading boxes, a group of cars arrived at the place. At first Raven thought it was his client, but soon realized they were police cars. Ready to scream at his comrades to jump on the ship and take off, someone made a warning shot.

"Look what we have here. These guys conveniently readied this for us,"

The people coming out of the cars got closer, standing in front of the lights of the truck. Once illuminated, Raven realized it was Jack. He was surrounded by armed men; however they weren't wearing the police's uniforms. Jack whispered something to them and his men pointed their guns at the students.

"Get in the ship!" Jack yelled, pushing the nearest student towards the inside of the ship.

"What is going on?" Raven asked in confusion.

Why where they letting them aboard?

"It's simple. We're taking the Elum, and you'll come with us in case something happens," Jack said with an entertained tone.

Once inside the ship the students were leaded into the cargo bay. A group of armed men stayed there, keeping an eye on them.

"What is going on?" a gang leader asked.

"Isn't it obvious? They're a bunch of corrupted sons of a bitch, and now we are hostages," Raven explained.

Jack entered the cargo bay right in time to hear Raven. The ship's engines started to roar and the whole thing moved over the airfield, preparing to take off.

"Oh, come on little boy," Jack started to say "Those are mean words."

"I thought you were trying to stop this kind of thing, not promoting it," Raven said.

"Yeah, of course. We were trying to stop everyone else from taking this treasure from us. Haven't you wondered why you were the only ones attempting to steal this? If someone like the mafia had taken it then it's bye bye, but man; it's so easy to steal things from kids."

"What about your years serving the Nasods?"

"You're joking right? Do you know that a single crate of this shit can get you more money than a full life of honor and service can, right? To hell with the Nasod and their mechanical shits, we're going to be rich here!"

Everyone cheered as Jack left the cargo bay. The ship finally took off and started making its way to the floating island's edge.

"We have to escape," Raven said, looking around for a way out.

They weren't chained, all that kept them there were the armed guys on the door. It would be hard getting to them without catching a shot to the face. Loud sirens could be heard drawing near, they were the police skippers.

"Stop your engines and throw your weapons, this is the police!" An amplified voice demanded.

"I'm sorry but we won't be stopping. We'll abandon this island and if you try to stop us, we'll throw the students we captured over the board. I bet you guys don't want a poor student smashed in tomorrow's news right?" Jack answered through a megaphone.

That was their best chance, while everyone was distracted by the police, Raven gestured to the gang to get ready. Everyone got in position without needing any words for it.

"Hey! Stay where you are and keep calm if you don't want anything bad happening!" One of the goons watching them said.

Luckily, Raven was as stingy as he could when he rented the skyship. He knew the poor machine was barely able to fly. Once everyone was ready for it, he closed his eyes to focus his strength. In a quick movement he jumped in the air, catching the attention of the guards; and immediately crashed into the ground with his Nasod arm.

The sudden impact shook the entire ship. It tilted to one side and to the other, causing everyone not ready for it to stumble and fall. Its engines also started to fail, causing the ship to lose speed. Taking advantage of the chaos, the gang jumped over the guards, who were too busy trying to not fall on the ground or get smashed by the Elum crates to prevent being caught by them.

The cargo bay was secured, they even took the weapons the corrupted policemen were carrying.

"There's no way to know what are these guys planning to do with us once they get out of here so we should try to run away," Raven suggested.

"This sky ship is absolute crap, I bet that if we make some holes on the engines with this things it will go down…" A gang member suggested.

"True, but if we do that we'll surely lose all the Elum, and maybe even get crushed by the ship."

Raven considered their options. As much as he hated it, there was only one viable option.

"Look guys, we didn't come this far to run away now. I say that we kick these corrupted cops out of our ship and get away with the Elum," He suggested.

One by one, everyone seemed to agree.

"I wouldn't be such in a hurry if I were you," Jack said, entering again the cargo bay. He was followed by his men, but they weren't carrying weapons.

Raven ordered to shot at them, but when they tried to fire the weapons, their triggers didn't move even an inch.

"Those are police weapons boy, now that they branded us as criminals, they won't work anymore," Jack said with a smug face.

"Actually, that's best for us," Raven said, ordering them to attack.

The students charged at the group of criminals. Even when they were more in number, the corrupted cops were far more experienced. In a matter of time, the cargo bay was a chaos of punches. Raven went directly after Jack, charging at him through his goons. Jack dodged the first punch, he was far more agile than expected. Raven followed with a flurry of punches to his face, but again the former cop was able to evade every one of them. He directed a quick kick at Raven's waist, causing him to stumble, and quickly grabbed him by the arm and threw him into the crates. Raven managed to avoid crashing his face into the box, he turned to see Jack coming with a punch ready. The Nasod arm blocked it and Raven retaliated throwing himself into Jack's chest. They fell on the ground and Raven climbed on top of him, throwing punches at his face. Jack was able to get his face out of the way and kick Raven off of him. He stood up but Raven was faster, a lighting fast punch from the Nasod arm hit Jack on his side, making him stumble.

Raven was about to charge at him again when he realized they were losing. One by one all students were being defeated. Jack laughed, standing up. He was about the say something, but them a sudden tremble from the ship interrupted him. The ship started to tilt and stumble. An alarm sounded in the deck, and Jack made his way up.

"Grab that one, we'll take care of him."

Raven was caught by a pair of corrupted cops and was dragged to the deck. There was a fire in the control room, and the engines were malfunctioning. Jack cursed and demanded an explanation. While Raven was thinking the ship just gave it all on that runaway, the sound of guns startled him. The two cops restraining him twisted in pain when an electric round hit them. Raven looked back and he caught a glimpse of a woman. She moved incredibly fast and positioned in front of him, carrying a small handgun that she pointed at Jack, he tried to get out of the way but a laser like electrical round hit him, causing him to fell on the ground.

The mysterious woman looked at Raven. Even if he had a hard time remembering, he was able to recognize her.

"Lieutenant Connors!" Raven shouted, out of surprise.

"Special Agent Connors, boy," She corrected him.

Raven felt even more confused. She walked over Jack and made sure he was unconscious. A bright spotlight illuminated the deck, and a police skipper stopped over them. From it, a group of cops descended through cables. Connors gave them orders and all of them headed for the cargo bay. The ship was still losing altitude, but she didn't seemed very worried of that.

Connors chained Jack to a pipe and woke him up with a slap, the man mumbled something as the senses came back to him.

"What is going on?"

"Agent Jack, in the name of the Queen you're under arrest for corruption and disloyalty."

"Connors?! How?!" Jack asked in confusion.

The Nasod moved to Raven's side and checked on him.

"You're lucky that they tried to get the Elum, otherwise you'll be in a dire situation right now, student," She paused to look at Jack "I was assigned to the anti-mafia when a suspicion of corruption arrived at the headquarters. I'm not really an anti-mafia police officer, I'm a Special Agent under orders of the government."

The agents that arrived by skipper returned from the cargo bay carrying the stunned criminals and followed by the surprised students.

"I knew you were going to try and steal the Elum today, and I guessed that if there was any corrupted cop involved, they'll take this chance to take it from you and runaway. So I sent a double to the theatre and then followed all of you. It was really easy," She said, letting out a sarcastic laugh.

To think that they were discovered even before starting. Raven couldn't believe it.

"You were aboard all this time?" He asked.

Connors nodded "I was waiting for the best moment to strike,"

The ship crumbled, the fire in the control room was spreading. A police skipper stopped next to the ship and a door over it opened. They boarded it as fast as they could and watched how the empty ship crashed into the ground.

"There goes a fortune in Elum wine," Raven said.

Connors laughed "Oh, that wine was fake. The real wine is already at the tower. All this operation confiscating it was just to bring out the smugglers. When the Elum was secretly loaded into the warships it was already a fake one. All this time they were smuggling with red paint."

"With that said, you were attempting to do something really bad." Connors said, looking at the group of students.

So many things happened that Raven forgot about their current situation. They were aboard a police skipper and Connors knew everything. It was jail time for sure.

"But you did help in bring out the true criminals… I guess I can include that in my report. Let's see, you'll surely will spend some time in jail, but once you're out, what will you do?" Connors asked.

They all looked at each other not sure what to say.

"The police will need a new anti-mafia team. Once you finish your time in prison, you may be interested in putting those skills you used to do all of this to a good end. The police are always looking for special individuals like you, but remember that, if you do decide to join; I'll be watching."

Raven was a bit surprised. He could join the police once he's out of jail? It didn't seemed so bad. But that was thinking way too long. For now, all that they could do was just sit and relax on their way to prison. In the end, he was happy that Elesis wasn't there. She must be having a good time at the party with everyone else. If only he decided to do the same.


	21. End of Semester

_**WARNING: This chapter contains NSFW stuff, do not read if you're underage.**_

* * *

All celebrations were over. The classes had ended for the semester, and every student in the academy was preparing for their vacation. Before their time off could begin, however, there was one more thing all the students had to worry about: their academic evaluation. In every class, a long queue of nervous students formed, waiting for their turn to receive their score for the semester in the form of a light brown envelope.

Most students opened these envelopes right away, however the less confident ones preferred to see them in private. Aisha was confident enough to open it the moment she got a hold of the envelope and was unsurprised to find excellent marks across the board.

She burst into the student council room with a cheerful smile and was congratulated by everyone there. She found Chung, holding his envelope while trembling, with a pale expression on his face.

"What's wrong Chung?" She asked, leaning towards the young man.

"I'm afraid that my actions from this semester might have affected my scores…"

"You haven't seen them yet," Eve stated, who had just entered the room as well.

Swallowing hard, he tore the envelope open and unfolded the sheet of paper…

His scores were average. Not too high, but nothing failed. It was far below what one would expect from a king-to-be, but at least he wouldn't get scolded.

"I hope this serves as a warning for your actions from here on…" Eve said, sitting on her desk. Unlike usual, it was totally clear today. No papers staked in tall towers, nor flashing holo-screens full of pending paperwork. It was so clean that it even looked like it was new.

Eve took a deep breath and felt the smooth wood under her hands for the first time in months.

"You finished all your paperwork already?" Chung asked in disbelief, already packing his things.

"Not only have I finished all my student president's work, but I've also managed to clear all my responsibilities for the next two months… For any human the task would be insurmountable, but it was nothing that I couldn't handle," Eve said, sounding really proud of it. Although Aisha gave her a pained look. There was only one way Eve was able to finish such a task and that reason just so happened to knock on the door.

A knock on the door warned everyone of Elesis arrival. She waved her envelope in one hand and rushed to Eve's desk.

"It's all clear, look at it!" Elesis said, slamming the envelope on the table.

Eve took the scores' sheet out and examined it. Aisha and Chung also looked over her shoulders to try and see them.

"Incredible!" Chung said.

"Impossible!" Aisha said, snatching the scores of Eve's hands "You cheated! There's no way you could have scored this high!"

Aisha set the sheet back on the table. They were all perfect, just like hers.

"What?" Elesis smiled, "Are you jealous?"

Aisha looked to the president hoping for Eve to question the authenticity of them, but the president gestured for her to stop.

"I asked someone to specifically watch over all her tests, I know she hasn't cheated. I must say however, you did far beyond my expectations… It makes me wonder if you even needed my help to begin with."

"Well," Elesis started to say, rubbing the back of her head "I guess what I needed the most was a bit of motivation. So… uh… about that trip…"

"Of course, come tomorrow to pick me up," Eve said, standing up and heading out of the room. She didn't want to speak about that in front of Aisha. She knew Aisha would feel bad about it and she could even start to act annoying again. Just as she was thinking that, her Elshard rang. A blue screen popped out, showing a picture of Eve and Aisha together and a chat:

" _Hey, you ran away so fast I couldn't even wish you a safe trip :( "_

" _I know that I been acting as an awful friend lately"_

" _I'm sorry"_

" _It doesn't matter, I know you meant no harm"_

" _Ha ha…"_

" _Eve, you're my best friend, and I don't want that to change. I'm sorry for everything I did"_

" _I'm trying to get over it. Maybe I won't be able to avoid being an asshole sometimes"_

" _But I want to let you know that I want to keep being your friend"_

" _I'm glad to hear that"_

" _I hope things go well with that delinquent._

 _If you get in trouble, you can call me and I'll be right there Eve"_

" _She's not a delinquent anymore. Don't worry_

 _about it, I know I can always count on you"_

Eve put the Elshard back in her pocket. She felt refreshed, knowing that Aisha was getting over it. To be honest, she would feel really bad if the two of them stopped being friends. After all, until just a few months Aisha was her only friend.

As soon as she arrived home, Eve asked her maids to make the preparations. She didn't know where Elesis would take her, or how many time they would be out there. How much should she pack? Should she pack for winter or for summer weather? Elesis did say that she wanted to go all around the world in her bike, but that could mean anything…

She decided to carry only one bag. If she needed anything more she could easily have it delivered from the tower anywhere in the world.

The city was a lot busier this time of the year. Every shop had already stocked on sweets and gifts for the end of the year party. All streets where decorated with abundant lights, giving the night a dreamy atmosphere. Lots of people gathered on the streets either going or coming from a party.

"Ciel! Look at that fountain!" Lu screamed, amazed by the beautiful light effects on a water fountain.

"Watch out, there's a lot of ice around it," Ciel warned, following behind her.

Behind the two of them; Rena, Ara, Aisha and Rose followed. All of them wearing wool hats and gloves, with the tip or their noses and ears red from the cold. They were heading for the Nasod Whim, where a "End of the semester" party was going to be held.

"I thought you were going to see your parents," Ara said looking at Aisha.

"I will, but after I have a little party of my own, I have some thoughts I want to vent first," She said with a smile "And what about your boyfriend?"

"Eh?! I think you're misunderstanding it… If you meant Chung, he already left for Hamel," Ara answered.

"And Raven is in jail, that idiot…" Rena added "Looks like tonight we don't even have a worthy guy hanging around us…"

"Hey!" Ciel protested after hearing the elf.

"Sorry Ciel, but you already have your little devil…" Rena said with a laugh.

"You could have at least worded it differently."

They arrived at the place. A long queue awaited for them. It looks like every student decided to visit the disco before leaving the city. They had decorated it for the occasion. The façade was covered in tiny white lights, which gave the illusion of gentle snowfall. Around it there were tall trees decorated with serpent like lights all around them. And when they finally were let in, they discovered the place was full of artificial snow and other winter like garments.

They joined the dance floor. It was livelier than ever with all the students that wanted to celebrate the end of the semester. After a long dance, Aisha retired to the bar, already out of breath.

"You're in bad shape, vice-president," Ara said, leaving the dance floor behind her.

"I been spending a lot of time sitting in front of my desk lately," She answered with a smile. She was actually impressed herself, not too much time ago she would been able to dance all night long, but it was a single one what made her want to rest this time.

Ciel and Lu were the next ones to take a break, but probably it was because they wanted to annoy everyone else being all over each other.

"Get a room!" Rena shouted at them leaving the dance floor, too, followed by Rose. Lu looked at her and stuck her tongue out before resuming their kisses and hugs.

They continued the party until the night was pretty old. It was their last day together before going to their respective vacation places. One month didn't seem too long but that didn't keep Ara from tearing up while saying goodbye to everyone else. When Aisha parted away from the group, the sun was already rising. Her legs hurt, her head was spinning… she felt overall pretty bad. A full night of partying, something that she could have easily handled in her best times, but now… Actually, it wasn't because she was feeling weak, it was the fact that she was missing something.

Every time she would go out and get drunk, Eve would be there to look after her. She hadn't realized until now, but the amount of times she awoke in her own bed after a crazy night was more than she could even count. Despite the president being so strict, she never was angry at her about that, and to top it off, she would usually come first hour in the morning to check on her. But now here she was, walking alone in the sunrise.

As the alcohol left her, she started feeling cold. The early sunbeams weren't enough to keep her warm and she soon started to tremble. Holding onto her sides, trying to stay warm, she increased her pace to the dorms, which only caused her to slide and stumble on the accumulated snow in the street. She was getting up with her nose absolutely red when she heard a bike stopping near her.

"Need a ride?"

Aisha looked up and met with Elesis' eyes. She stopped next to her and was offering her a hand. Aisha would have rejected it if it weren't from the horrible cold she was starting to feel.

"It's the second time I rescued someone from the cold this year… I should start charging for it…" Elesis said as the mage accommodated on the bike "Hold on tight or you'll fall off… Come on! I don't bite."

Aisha reluctantly wrapped her arms around Elesis waist. It was warm. Very warm. She rested her face on her back as she drove her to the school grounds.

"I thought you had another week of work to do!" Aisha yelled over the bike's engine.

"I did, but my boss was feeling generous and decided to let me go earlier."

Elesis' way of driving wasn't the most appropriate for someone who had just drunk a dozen different liquors. Aisha was starting to feel really bad when Elesis stopped. They arrived earlier than expected. She quickly dismounted and held onto a fence to recover from the nausea.

"Do you want to come in?" She offered once the world stopped spinning.

"That's very kind of you but I'll have to pass. Eve is waiting for me." Elesis said, powering the engine up again and leaving with a wave.

She drove faster than usual. Without knowing it, she was wearing a radiant smile.

"I'm sure she's the kind of person that can't sleep before a journey due to being nervous," She thought as she parked next to the tallest tower of the island. She hummed with the elevator's music on the long ascend and finally was in her manor's garden. As she walked to the entrance, the maid Artemisa already opened the door. She bowed at her and step aside to let her in.

"Good morning, Miss Elesis," The maid started to say "I'm afraid that I must apologize in the name of my master since she's not ready for the leaving yet."

Elesis was guided to the usual guest room she has been so many times in before. Artemisa served her a cup of tea and waited with her with her kind smile on.

"It doesn't matter, there's not a schedule so… And how much would she take?"

"Well… I couldn't exactly tell. I hope she forgives me but," Artemisa said, changing her kind smile into a more nervous one "The truth is that I haven't woken her up yet. I'm sorry, but considering how badly she has been sleeping lately and how hard she worked, when I saw how she was finally having a decent sleep I couldn't bring myself to wake her up."

Elesis couldn't help but laugh at the maid, who suddenly felt a bit ashamed of her own actions.

"It's fine, Artemisa. Let her rest if you think she needs it. But say… do you think you could allow me to wake her up?"

"That would be outrageous!" The maid said, as if Elesis proposition was actually a sin "I cannot allow my master to be seen like that…"

"Oh, but I've already seen her sleeping. And I also can assure to you that she won't be mad at you for not waking her up if you let me handle it" Elesis said, causing the maid to blush wildly as her mind divagated trying to imagine how and why did Elesis saw that.

"Even if you say that, I can't allow it, my deepest apologies."

Elesis sighed, looks like she would have to wait until the kind maid decides to wake up her master. She could understand the reasons, whoever she wasn't willing to wait that long.

"Artemisa, could I ask you for another cup of tea?"

"Of course, I'll make some more, please wait here meanwhile."

The maid left the room, and soon after did Elesis, looking around every corner for any sign of activity. The manor was totally empty at that hour of the day. Seems like Artemisa was the only present staff at the moment. Pretty convenient for Elesis. She started wandering the place, looking for Eve's bedroom. It would have been an easier task if it weren't for the size of the house itself. She had to check every door in every corridor. Behind those doors were all kind of rooms. Elesis opened a door that lead into a room filled with nothing but blue holographic screens that were also the only source of light.

"This doesn't look like a bedroom."

Trying another door she found what seemed like a home cinema. A room with a large screen that covered the entire wall with many seats arranged in a semicircle around it. She started skipping doors, thinking that a room as important as the house master bedroom should be different. And so she discovered a different looking door. One with a brighter wood finish and with elegant drawings on it. She hurried to open it.

She found it. Eve's bedroom wasn't like anything that Elesis would have expected. She was hoping for the room to be filled with velvet and gold. With tall furniture decorated with silver and a huge drawer filled to the brim with the prettiest dresses. But it couldn't be more different. The room was white, literally. The floor wasn't covered in velvet carpets, it was bare marble slabs, pretty much like the walls and ceiling. There weren't tall furniture covered in silver, only a metallic desk and a cabin that housed the drawer. And the bed didn't even had a canopy with silk curtains, it was a plain looking one that, at least; had some colored blankets on it.

And on that bed, catching her attention; a single person rested. Elesis moved to the bedside to see Eve peacefully sleeping. Wrapped in her blankets and hugging her pillow she rested with a tiny smile on her face. It was different from the last time, perhaps because this time she wasn't as wary as when she slept on her trailer. For a little while Elesis stood next to her bedside looking at her sleeping face. From time to time, Eve would make a soft sound and rub her face on the pillow.

Elesis giggled and thought what would be the best way to wake her up. Come to think of it, it would be really weird for her to be awoken by Elesis, instead of her maid. Probably this whole thing was a bad idea but now that she was this close Elesis doubt she could be able to return to the guest room without Artemisa noticing.

Artemisa! She must have returned with the tea and discovered her absence. She should also be hurrying her way here right now! Elesis mentally apologized to her for all the trouble she caused to the kind maid and leaned on Eve's bed. She gently grabbed her by the shoulder and softly pushed her while whispering her name.

It wasn't enough to awake the sleeping beauty. Elesis was about to repeat it when the sound of the door opening scared her enough to jump and get away the bed in a second.

"Miss Elesis! You gave me a scare! I thought you would be lost in the manor…"

It was Artemisa, who seemed to have a recent running session, probably searching for Elesis everywhere.

"Alright, since you don't seem to be able to wait, I suppose you might as well wake her up now," The maid added, letting out a sigh.

Elesis wondered how the maid would awake her master. Maybe she would whisper her something or just give her a gentle swing.

Instead, Artemisa pulled a remote control from her dress and pressed a button on it. Suddenly all the walls changed and the image of a window was projected over them, showing the entire surrounding landscape as if there weren't any obstacles around the room. The projection even reproduced the chirping of the early birds, as well as a soft breeze.

"Mistress, it's time to wake up!" Artemisa cheerfully announced.

Eve seemed to stir under the blankets.

"I'll wake up in just five minutes…"

"You already slept enough, my mistress. Now, if you excuse me…" Artemisa said, suddenly pulling the blankets.

In a single pull she removed all the blankets, causing Eve to curl under the sudden fresh breeze. Her eyes slowly opened and the first thing she saw was Elesis nervously smiling.

"As you can see, my master, your guest has already arrived," Artemisa said while she folded the blankets and put them back in the drawer.

Eve sat astride, still half sleep she rubbed her eyes and looked at Elesis again just to confirm it was her.

"Why are you in my room?"

Her question was immediately followed by a yawn and her maid hurried to explain instead.

"I'm afraid I'm at fault for this my lady. Due to your recent sleeping schedule I've decided to allow you to oversleep today. Miss Elesis just arrived to pick you up."

* * *

It took about an hour for Eve to be ready. She finally appeared at the guest room dressed in an out of character set of clothes: a pair of denim pants, a leather jacket, and a thin red scarf around her neck. Elesis smiled, wondering if Eve was imitating her. She didn't get angry at Artemisa for allowing her to oversleep, or at least she didn't show it. However, she was a bit embarrassed for being seen by Elesis at that moment. They descended the tower in silence with her maid accompanying them.

Once they arrived at Elesis's bike, Artemisa left Eve's bag on one of the two luggage carrier bags on the back of the bike. After that, she gave Eve a long winded speech that Elesis didn't pay much mind. She overheard things like "eat properly" and "don't accept candy from strangers". She was like a mother.

"Thank you for everything Artemisa, please enjoy your vacations," Eve finally said, dismissing the maid and mounting the bike.

"Finally!" Elesis thought as she started the engine and steered her way to the Sky ship hangar as fast as she could. Just like Aisha before, Eve wrapped her arms around her waist and rested her face on Elesis back. However Elesis reconsidered that maybe it would be more enjoyable if she stopped flying on the bike and decided to slow down.

"Where are we heading?" Eve asked over the bike's engine.

"We're going to ride the sky ferry to Elder city. After that… we'll see. I don't really have a schedule planned for this trip," Elesis answered.

"I see. It doesn't matter, as long as we go together it doesn't really matter where we're going."

Elesis felt like her cheeks were going red. She didn't know why but that just sounded too charming for her.

The way to the skyship's hangar didn't take too long, however the place was swarming with travelers. Either people who were going to spend the winter with their families around the world or people that came to see the island in this time of the year, the place was filled with people wearing tacky palm tree decorated t-shirts or really big winter clothes.

After what seemed like an eternity pushing and being pushed, Elesis managed to obtain the ticket for the ferry. Unlike most sky ships, the sky ferry was a modified version that allowed the transportation of vehicles alongside with travelers. It was shaped as any other sky ship with the exception of the deck, which was similar to a parking lot covered with a glass dome. Elesis parked her bike right next to the rail. From there they would have a nice view.

"It's been so long since I've last left Altera," Eve said, "And I think I've never been in Elder city before…"

"Oh, that's nice, I was worried that you would be bored of traveling to the places I planned to visit," Elesis laughed, "I think you'll be impressed by Elder. I've only been there a couple of times. It's like a city from the past. Almost everyone there decided to live without technology for some reason, so it's like going to the past. There are castles, busy marketplaces, blacksmiths…"

"From what I heard, they generate a wealth of income from tourists alone due to their rustic environment. Because of this it is in their best interest to maintain their image, but actually they also use modern technology."

"We'll see it soon."

Even though the ferry was slower than a regular sky ship, the distance it had to cover wasn't that long. They flew over the vast desert of Bethma. It was a huge expanse of sand and pilled stoned, traversed entirely by a single road. As they got near to Elder, the sand of the desert started turning into green grass and big forests. Finally, after flying over a tall mountain, a small city was visible in the middle of the forest.

It was surrounded by a sea of trees and built around a big castle. On the castle yard there was a long runway in which the ferry landed. They descended the sky ferry and drove through the gardens. Elesis reduced her pace to appreciate the beautifully arranged gardens that surrounded the castle.

There were small trees with beautiful white flowers on each side of the road they were traveling across. At one side of it, a long extension of flowers arranged to draw the symbol of the city. And on the other one a big maze made of tall bushes served as a tourist attraction. The castle itself was beautiful in a way. It was built around a plaza, with a tall building in the center that stretched in two directions. All surrounded with walls that could have served to shield the castle in the older times.

"Hey Eve, I feel like that castle looks a lot better than the tower where you live… Shouldn't you be living on a castle too?"

"Altera tower not only houses my home, but also dozens of government facilities as well as the Nasod Network heart, and it's equipped to cast its signal over all of the world. This castle however can only house a single family and most of it is used to entertain tourists. The fact that the sky ships land on its gardens are proof enough of how much of a waste of space this castle is…"

"Come on! I was joking," Elesis said, bursting in laughter.

Even if she couldn't see her face, Elesis knew Eve was pouting by the way he squeezed her waist. Just as she said earlier, there wasn't a schedule, so the first thing they did was drive through the city, looking for anything eye-catching. The place was really similar to those you see on a fantasy tale. Small houses made of stone with thatched roofs and rustic looking workplaces such as ironworks or alchemy workshops merged in a weird style with paved road and traffic lights. The only buildings that looked somewhat modern were either hotels or other tourist-oriented business.

Elesis would like to say she was driving slow to see the city, but the truth was that the road and even the sidewalks were flooded with tourists.

"Why is this town so full of people? I don't see any kind of special event…" Elesis protested, looking for a place to park.

Leaving the bike and continuing on foot was a lot easier, even when there was so many people. They wandered for a while until they saw a place that looked like some kind of coffee shop. It was empty, despite the fact that so many people were on the street; so they decided to enter.

The inside was a bit gloomy. A long bar occupied the center of the place and was surrounded by small tables. Each table was covered with a dark purple tablecloth. The few windows were half covered with black blinds and to top it off, the only people inside were an old looking barman and a girl dressed in full black dress with a wide skirt.

"This place looks like the kind of place Aisha would enjoy…" Eve noted, sitting next to a window.

The waitress came to take their orders. Her voice was annoyingly quiet, forcing Elesis to ask her to repeat almost everything she said. She was expecting to ask her about what's going on in Elder, but she wasn't willing to go through that, again. Eve, on the other hand, was curious.

"Why are there so many people in the city? I haven't heard of any event being celebrated here." She asked when the waitress came to serve their drinks.

"It's not here. It's in Ruben. Around this time of year, lots of people came to spend their vacations on the hot springs. However, since Ruben is such a small village, most people stay here."

She bowed at them and walked away. Elesis knew there were hot springs in Ruben, but never heard of so many people coming just for them.

"What about paying a visit to those spas?" Elesis asked.

"This is your vacation, so you decide."

"Oh no, we are traveling together so we should do things both of us like. So, do you want to go take a bath?"

Eve simply nodded. Elesis sighed; it was almost as if this were the first time of Eve outside Altera. It was fun, in its own way. But she hoped Eve would loosen up during the trip. Going to Ruben was much harder than expected. The waitress wasn't lying when she said that a there would be lots of people.

When they finally reached the east wall's gate they were able to see the small village not too far away from the city. However, it had really changed since the last time Elesis were here. She remembers the place being nothing but a small place where an adventures guild had set their headquarters. The hot springs used to be a river that is born in the mountain.

However, the small village she once remembered was now a hotbed for hotels and random shops, the adventurers guild seemed long closed and, most importantly; the waters that flowed into the thermal springs had been changed. Instead of being one single stream of water, they artificially redirected the river, dividing it into lot of smaller creeks. And many buildings had been built around them. Each of those had a unique style and feeling to it.

Some looked like a modern bathhouse while others that resembled a more oriental style. Clouds of steam rose from the enclosed spaces surrounding each building and from where they were, it was hard telling if it was the waters or the crowd.

"If possible I would like to get a room. It seems like there's not much to do in Elder right now, so I'd like to continue our journey by tomorrow," Elesis said. They were still stuck in the bridge that connected Elder and Ruben above the river.

"It's fine by me."

Eve was strangely quiet ever since they left Altera. Elesis couldn't help but feel like she may not be enjoying the trip. Now that she thought about it, Eve must be used to other kinds of trips. Like sitting in a skipper, landing on the rooftop of a glamorous five stars hotel and being received by a hundred of maids. Or who knows, but surely she never had to be stuck in a bike surrounded by noisy cars in the middle of nowhere without even knowing where to go.

"Eve, can I ask you why did you accept coming along? I guess you already knew this wouldn't be a luxury packed walk," Elesis asked. Seeing as the traffic wasn't advancing even a little, she stopped the bike engine.

"Was I not supposed to accept? There's not any big reason. I simply thought it would be enjoyable."

"Do you still think that way? Thinking about it now maybe I should have planned something…"

"Of course I do. Elesis, contrary to what you think, my previous journeys weren't exactly… all fun and party. Of course, I had the best luxuries the countries I visited could offer me, but it's not that simple. I never had a journey for fun, every time I traveled somewhere was for business, and those luxuries I'm talking about, they are more like a bribe. They just wanted me to be on their side wherever I go."

As Eve was talking, she moved to a better position, so she could speak with her. The cars started to move again, and so did they.

"This is way better. Going somewhere with a friend, without being recognized by everyone. In a way our destination doesn't matter, I guess this is what people often refer to as _The important part is the journey itself_ "

It was reassuring to hear that, Elesis was starting to think the whole thing was a mistake, but if she was having a good time, then she was happy.

They finally arrived at the village. In a way, it was incredible seeing so much activity in such a remote place, but considering the situation they were in, it was rather annoying. And that wasn't the only problem. With their plan to get a room in one of the bath houses, they headed for the one they felt it was the fanciest one. And, unfortunately, they were soon informed that they were totally full.

There were plenty of bathhouses to choose from, so they kept trying but, one by one; all of them said they were full.

"How can this be? We asked twenty different places!" Elesis yelled, collapsing on a bench. Her feet hurting from walking from one place to another.

"There's still one we hadn't check, and there seems to be a lot less people there," Eve said, pointing at the one placed in the highest part of the river. It was a huge bath house built like some kind of Greek temple. It had tall white pillars of marble and a roof shaped as a triangle with beautiful statues on the front. The place was surrounded with a white stone wall, and there was almost no one near it.

"Eve, it's not that there aren't many people in there. It's that not many people can afford staying there…" Elesis said, trying to avoid the matter.

"Don't worry about that, I'll pay," Eve said, already walking in its direction.

"No! I can't allow you to do that. Wait," Elesis said, quickly following behind her.

Even if she knew the price of that place would be ridiculous, she decided to give it a shot. Most probably they will be full like every other place and she won't have to sell a liver in order to stay there for a night.

She walked in first, cautiously peeking through the door as if she were afraid that the sole action of being there would be expensive. The entrance hall was huge. It was a room decorated with tall white pillars dotted with black. On the opposite end of it there was the reception counter, surrounded by two beautiful staircases that lead into the guests' rooms. However, the whole place was empty, only a single suited man stood behind the counter.

"Good evening, we would like a room for the night…" Elesis said, approaching the man.

He eyed her from tip to toe skeptically.

"I don't believe we have a room… uh… suited for someone like you."

"What the hell are you trying to say?" Elesis asked, leaning against the counter menacingly.

"Elesis, let me handle this guy," Eve said, pulling from her arm. Eve opened her purse and pulled out a golden credit card. The moment the man saw it, his expression changed from a condescending look to a terrified one. Elesis inspected the credit card a bit closer, it looked like a golden one, but actually it was made of actual gold.

"Please, get us the best room this poor excuse of an inn can offer, and while you're at it I want you to get on your fours and apologize to my friend for your embarrassing actions," She ordered.

"Eve, I don't want you paying things for me…" Elesis protested.

"Don't worry, this is the only thing money is good for," Eve said.

Half an hour later and after humiliating the poor receptionist, they were in a huge room. It was probably reserved from people of Eve's status, since every corner of the room was gilded with gold. The white floor and walls made Elesis remember of Eve's room in Altera, and a thought rushed to her mind.

"I thought you didn't enjoy this kind of treatment. Didn't you say so earlier?" Elesis asked.

"I didn't, but this is different. I couldn't stay idly when you were being harassed in that way. And on top of that, I really hate humans who think so highly of themselves."

Elesis then realized a small issue with the room. Even though it was huge, there was a single bed. She wasn't willing to ask Eve to solve it, especially after she forced the receptionist to apologize on such an embarrassing way. She wondered if Eve noticed the problem herself but seeing how she was already testing the bed by sitting on it and bouncing lightly Elesis guessed she already knew.

"What are we going to do about the bed?"

"I thought it would be ok to share the bed. I used to do it without a problem when I spend time with friends to be honest, so I hadn't considered it before, and there's also the fact that we already slept together some time ago…"

"Ok! Ok! You don't need to mention all the details."

The luxury and the room were fine, but what Elesis really wanted to see was the baths. She quickly changed and headed for them. Apparently, that place had a thermal pool for every guest, meaning that she would have an entire pool for herself. Well, Eve would be there, but she was small. And most important, she wasn't one of these kids that always run around the pool and causing a racket.

With nothing more than a towel, she ran outside the room and located the designated pool for their room. It was at the end of a hallway filled with doors on both sides. She guessed that the best room would have the best bath attached. And she wasn't disappointed.

The thermal bath they had was outdoors. It was surrounded by three bamboo walls, leaving one open space from where she had a perfect view of the mountain and the place where the origin of the waterflow. The pool itself was quite big for only two people, Elesis could easily swim from one side to another, except from the fact that it wasn't as deep. A marble statue of a beautiful woman was placed on the center and it was carrying an amphora from which hot water flowed. A ceiling of glass covered the pool, keeping the hot steam from escaping and giving the place a warmer look.

Elesis removed her towel and ran into the pool. The water was at a perfect temperature. She slowly walked to the opposite end and sat on the ledge. There was a step underwater that allowed her to stay half covered. She relaxed for a while before spotting a familiar silhouette across the fog of steam.

Eve appeared on the other side of the pool; she was wearing a towel around her body and slowly entered the pool. She walked, careful not to wet the towel to where Elesis was and finally removed it, leaving it folded next to her outside the waters. Eve sat next to Elesis and leaned back, breathing in.

"Feeling good?" Elesis asked.

"It's nice. It's pretty similar to the bath I have at my house though. But these waters have something special. It's like they are healing waters or something like that."

"Well, good thing you're relaxed. There's something I would like to talk to you about." Elesis said.

Eve sat straight, looking at her. Even when sitting on the step, the water covered her almost entirely, only letting her head out.

"I want to apologize." Elesis stated.

"For what?" Eve questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"For… everything. Ever since I decided to give up on my studies and all of that… I've been causing all kinds of concerns for you and everyone else in the council…"

"I already told you, there is no need to concern yourself."

Elesis took a deep breath. It looked like speaking about the matter pained her.

"Listen Elesis, we already discussed this before, you can just forget about it. Instead, I think I also owe you an apology," Eve added, "I should have helped you earlier. To be honest, I just let it slide because…"

Eve fell silent, as if she were going to reveal some forbidden secret. Elesis looked at her with inquiring eyes. She was curious about it. For the first time she saw the Nasod struggle with her own words. Did she really say something she wasn't supposed to?

"What were you going to say?" Elesis asked. She may be merely curious, but in the back of her mind a bit of concern started to spread. It wouldn't be the first time Eve would come up with some disgusting surprise.

"I never really attempted to take down your gag and force all of you to submit to school regulations because of a reason. I never told anyone else," She sighed "The reason is that you, your gang's existence; gave me hope."

"Hope? About what?" Elesis was pretty confused. She always thought Eve ignored her gang just because she was busy with more relevant affairs. But what hope could possibly bring a band of delinquents to someone like her.

"Hope about freedom. Elesis, from the moment I was born I've always been fulfilling my duty. I have a hard time recalling when I had what humans call _spare time_. And don't misunderstand me. I love what I do. However…"

Another pause. Eve leaned back, again.

"Sometimes my duty asks for more than I can give, and when that happens the only thing I can do is to overwork myself. Often times, I'm even forced to make decisions I don't really want."

"Hey" Elesis interrupted. The word just came out of her mouth, she wasn't sure how, but she didn't wanted Eve to start feeling down on their trip "Don't think about that now. Look, we are on a trip, and you don't have to think anything about work, school or whatever."

Eve seemed to found that funny.

"Listen Eve, until I return you to your house, I promise you won't have to think about your so called duty; so forget about it and lets enjoy this marvelous thermal waters."

Eve nodded. The sun hid in the horizon, and a chilly wind swept the water steam. It was a weird sensation. The body submerged in hot water while the head was getting cold.

"Actually, that's half the reason I wanted to tag along with you in this trip," Eve said.

"Half?"

Eve didn't elaborate further. Instead she let herself float on the pool. A tiny smile on her face. She heard the sound of water pounding on the glass above, it was starting to rain. Good thing the pool was covered, although the air soon began to get colder. She sunk her body again and hurried to the water's edge next to Elesis. The water was pumped inside the pool from there, so it was a lot warmer.

"Should we get out?" Elesis suggested seeing her.

"I would like the enjoy this a bit longer…" Eve protested "Look, we could use that."

Eve pointed at a tray left next to the pool. It had some kind of floaters beneath it and it was loaded with a set of glasses and a white bottle. Eve reached for it and let it float on the pool while serving what was in the bottle. It turned out to be a hot alcoholic beverages.

"I don't think I've ever drank hot alcohol…" Elesis said "It's kind of disgusting."

"There's a land where this alcohol is pretty common, but I have to agree with you on that… The good thing is that I feel a bit warmer."

Even if it wasn't tasty, they still drink quite a bit of it, enough for the cold to go away. The rain pounded now on the glass ceiling stronger than before. But Eve and Elesis didn't to mind it.

"This is a good chance to know each other, don't you think?" Elesis suddenly suggested.

"Why?"

"We had just enough of that weird liquor to let our tongue loose, and also the steam of the bath is making our heads feel a bit lighter. What about we make some questions we normally wouldn't ask?"

"I don't know what kind of questions you are talking about," Eve said, turning around to look at the landscape. It was already night, and the rain hid almost everything, but she could still see the lights in the distance from the other thermal houses. It was a beautiful display of lights and shadows seen through the curtain of rain.

"You know, the kind of question you don't want to be asked," Elesis said with a giggle "What about I start with you so you can understand it better?"

"Alright, but after that you'll have to answer mine!" Eve answered, facing Elesis again.

"Of course, don't worry. And just to be sure, this is just to have a little fun embarrassing each other. No grudges held," Elesis laughed and cleared her throat before asking "Eve, who was your first kiss with?"

"What are we? High schoolers?" Eve protested, causing Elesis to laugh out loud.

"Fine, then… Who was the first person you had sex with?" Elesis moved to face Eve closer, she could see in her expression how she regrets not answering the first question.

"It was Aisha."

It took a while before Elesis burst into laughter.

"Oh my, I didn't know you two have that kind of relationship… Don't tell me she's your first kiss too."

"We don't have that kind of relationship. It was something that just happened," Eve said, attempting to excuse herself "Any way, now is my turn."

Elesis managed to stop laughing and waited for Eve to formulate her question. After a little while in silence, Eve finally said:

"I don't know what I should ask you…"

"Oh, lucky me!"

"Not so fast. Just tell me something to compensate from what I just told you," Eve commanded.

"Let's see…. Oh, sometimes, during club activities I take pictures of some girl's panties," Elesis said with a giggle. Eve just sighed.

"How's that comparable to my answer?" She protested.

"Then just make a better question, which reminds me that it's my turn to ask again," Elesis replied.

"Are we still doing this?"

"Of course. Now answer this: What's your bra size?"

Eve looked at her. It was good that she dropped the previous matter, but now she seemed to just want to annoy her. However, she knew Elesis for long enough to recognize her way of doing things. When Elesis starts making such insolent jokes, she just wants the other person to bite in. If she just followed her she could turn it over her.

"You have been ogling me ever since I got in here and yet you can't tell?" Eve replied.

"Oh… That's an interesting answer indeed," Elesis said, surprised by her response, "Alright, what is your question?"

"Is your game headed somewhere?"

"What do you mean?" Elesis asked, innocently.

"I feel like there's something you really want to ask but you're just beating around it. I prefer if you just skip all this details and ask directly."

Elesis leaned back over the edge again.

"You're no fun at all Eve," She giggled, which confused Eve "Yeah, there's something I would like to ask. I'm just curious about it. Tell me the truth about what happened with Aisha. And don't give me the sweetened version. I want to know why the two of you never dated."

Eve took a long sigh. It wasn't like it was a secret, just something she didn't really wanted to talk about. But maybe telling someone would help her feel a bit at ease. She just wished that that someone wouldn't be Elesis.

"Alright, but never tell her," Eve started to say, she took a deep breath "The truth about it is pretty simple. I liked her. Aisha is cute, she makes me laugh and she cares for me more than anyone else. And I admit that she's a good lover. But… she's also a representation of everything that I'm trying to run away from.

"She's devoted to her duty and all of that, but she's also strict. She never reconsiders the rules and believes they should be applied with no distinction. She works even when she's extremely tired, she never rest if there are things to do… I could go on and on. Let's just say that Aisha was turning into something like me. And I couldn't stand that."

Eve paused. She looked at Elesis to check if she was listening. She was looking at her, and thankfully she wasn't laughing. Then, she continued:

"One day I was inspecting the girl's dorms. It was before Aisha was the vice-president. I used to do these kind of things alone, then. I didn't even know that Aisha was in those dorms that day. While I was checking that everything was in order, I heard someone singing. Normally I would have ignored it, but it was pretty loud so I decided to go check on it. And what did I discovered? It was Aisha; she was in the showers singing one of these songs that rebellious teenagers usually listen to."

"She was pretty embarrassed; it was funny seeing her red face. However for me that changed a lot of things. The super strict girl that was Aisha had a hidden side. One that was pretty different. That was when we started that secret group."

"Oh, so your music group was founded in the girl's dorms showers?" Elesis asked. She had been silent for so long that she just felt like saying something "But did that changed something? The group I mean."

"Yeah. We organized our first actuation. I wanted to feed that side of hers, so we made it in the shadows. Somehow we managed to find more members and with that, our first concert was done. After it, like always; we had to make a run for it. We ended running under the rain to hide in the dorms' broom closet. I'll be honest. I never felt more attracted to her than ever. It didn't have anything to do with the way the rain made her clothes stuck to her body or how her wet hair looked good on her. It was because of what just happened."

"So then you ripped her clothes and ravaged her!" Elesis shouted before laughing. Eve looked at her pouting in annoyance, to which Elesis just answered by rubbing the back of her head and smiling.

"But you're nearly right however. We were making out, we would have done it if it weren't because someone interrupted us. Luckily it was a fellow member of the group, but still…"

"Oh my, so you really like naughty girls huh?"

"I wouldn't say that. I like girls that aren't trying to become like me. That was just a stupid impulse from my part. The next day Aisha was back to being how she usually was and I realized something. The only way we could ever date would be by turning Aisha into something really different than what she was. And… there's no sense in doing that. It would be cruel to her."

"And you never told her that? No doubt she was so desperate."

"What could I have said? _We have a lot of things in common but I happen to hate them so I don't like you?_ It didn't matter what I would say, she wouldn't like it anyway."

"But wait. You said your first time was with her!"

"And that is true. But it happen quite recently," Eve said, avoiding to mention that it happened this same month "It was a breaking point. I felt like doing it would make her feel better."

"You had sex with her because you felt pity for her?" Elesis questioned, barely containing a laugh.

"Maybe it looked like that but I wanted that to happen as much as she. Just, it couldn't keep happening. Aisha needs to get over it and I too."

It was getting cold. The numbing effect of the alcohol was going away and now even the hot waters did little to keep their bodies warm. They agreed that was the moment to get out and head back. They headed for the dining room. An space as big as the entrance hall. There were dining tables scattered through the room, separated one from another with curtains. The decoration was pretty ostentatious. Large marble statues of strong men and pretty women dotted the place. The large pillars that held the ceiling had all kind of scenes sculpted in it.

"Sorry for making you talk about something so unpleasant" Elesis said once they were sat.

"I actually feel relieved. I never told anybody about it. Thank you for listening."

A large tray full of meat was placed in the dining table. Elesis could barely resist digging in. The meat looked absolutely delicious. It was tender and rare and it was covered in a thick flavored sauce.

"After all you've told me, I'm starting to see you with a different light," Elesis said.

Eve looked at her and smiled. She didn't reply with anything more, that smile alone was enough. After the generous dinner they finally went to bed. Even if Elesis was worried about sharing a bed before, after the long day, the relaxing bath and the copious dinner, they just collapsed in bed and immediately fell asleep.

* * *

Driving out of Ruben was easier than driving in. There weren't any cars leaving since it was still weeks until the holidays ended, so the only ones along the exit road were the ones that had better plans, like the two of them. Elesis was happy for being able to squeeze the throttle to the limit. They were inside the rustic city of Elder in no time. After stocking up on food and water, she headed out the city again, this time heading to the south.

"We'll cross the Bethma Desert by bike so we are going to need these provisions."

The Bethma desert was one of the few places of the world that wasn't already populated by cities. It was a vast canyon with very little water and food sources. Only a few humans lived in there, alongside with a native tribe of lizardmen. To allow easy travel along the desert, they built a long road that connects the city of Elder with Feita. However, even by road, the journey can be pretty risky.

Before being allowed to enter the winding path, they had to pass a special checkpoint. It was for their security, but once they were rolling on their way into the dry canyon Eve said that it was their way of telling that they weren't willing to rescue idiots from the road.

Soon, the green forests that surrounded Elder started to make way for a more arid landscape. The green pastures slowly disappeared and left sand and scorched stone on their place. After a while, even the forest was hidden by the tall mountains that decorated the desert. Unlike normal mountains, these ones were made of pure stone, looking like natural formed towers that the winds and the sand had shaped through millennia.

In general it was all that you could expect from a desert: Sand, dunes, burning hot… Eve was specially troubled for the last one.

"Are you ok back there?" Elesis questioned when she noticed Eve's grasp on her waist getting weaker.

"I really hate the heat. Do you think we can make a stop?"

Elesis looked for a place to take a rest. The road usually had some areas dedicated for such ends, but the nearest one was still a few kilometers away. In the end, she had to stop the bike and allow Eve to sit next to it, using the small shadow it casted. Elesis didn't noticed the scorching temperature yet, she already knew she was pretty resistant to it thanks to her fire affinity. But thinking about it, for someone that usually lives in one of the coldest places on earth, coming to a desert may have been too much.

"Is it ok if I get changed? My clothes are all sweaty, and they're not suitable for this weather," Eve said.

"You don't need my permission," Elesis said. However she quickly understood that Eve was asking her to look away.

"And this time don't peek," Eve said starting to strip.

Elesis giggled, she thought Eve hadn't seen her that other time. She waited patiently until she allowed her to look again. With a bit of expectation she turned around and was actually surprised. Eve had removed almost all her clothing and changed into some short shorts and a black bikini top. She also wore black sunglasses and a straw hat.

"Oh my, suddenly the desert feels a lot hotter," Elesis said jokingly.

Eve answered with a smile. They got moving again. Looking at the map, there should be a resting area nearby. Elesis knew better than to drive a whole day through the desert, and considering that Eve was already struggling with the heat, she decided that they could rest in there.

How weird though. Elesis was expecting to go alone on her winter break trip and just do some random stuff, and yet she was crossing the desert with a beauty on her bike. The more she thought about it, the more she felt it was the right choice to drop the _delinquent_ matter before it was too late.

After driving over what seemed like a million dunes, she finally spotted the resting area. It was just two buildings next to a large parking lot. One of the buildings seemed like a motel, and the other one was a bar.

"You may want to change again before going in, this kind of places is usually full of weird people," Elesis suggested. The parking lot was almost empty, except for the group of bikes parked in a straight line. All of them decorated with flames and other tacky paintings. It was most likely a bikers band. Usually, they are people you don't want to mess with, but Elesis didn't want to force Eve to stay under the desert sun any longer. If problem arises, she would be ready.

Eve covered herself with a thin shirt and they went into the bar for refreshments. The place was certainly interesting. There was some pool tables on one corner, surrounded by different arcade machines. One wall was covered with dartboards and the opposite one with many plates from all kinds. Some of them with silly phrases on them instead of just numbers. An automatic jukebox was placed at the center of the place and the tables spread around it. It had bubbles inside and a lot of lights, and it was playing some cliché rock song. But it was enjoyable nonetheless.

"This place actually isn't too bad," Eve said, looking for a good spot to sit down.

"If it weren't for the clientele…" Elesis added, looking at the group of leather dressed guys that swarmed the pool tables. They all wore some kind of bandana or scarf, probably showing their gang colors. However, what was more disturbing for them was how none of them was wearing a shirt, covering their bodies only with a vest or directly nothing, awfully showing their hairy torso.

"Yeah, it would be a pretty nice place otherwise."

Once they were served they asked the waitress about the motel. Apparently it was run by the bar owner too, so they just made a reservation.

"Eve, what do you think about going to sleep soon so we can get up at night? It would be a lot easier to move around here at that time," Elesis suggested.

"Fine by me. I'm going to grab some more refreshments for the remaining path just in case," Eve answered heading to the bar.

Left alone in the table, Elesis started to mentally plan their route. If they go to sleep now they'll be able to wake up pretty early in the morning, before the sun came out. However her train of thought was interrupted when she spotted one of the bikers getting close to Eve. She immediately stood up and headed there.

"Hey cute girl, are you two traveling alone?" The man said approaching Eve. She looked at him, her nose instantly curled due to the stinky smell of the alcohol the man was drinking. She grabbed the tray with her refreshments and left him without an answer.

He wasn't very pleased with that, and tried to catch her by the shoulder. However when his hand was caught by Elesis. She gripped the man's wrist and looked at him with a ferocious look in her eyes.

"Don't touch her."

The man quickly pull his hand away, looking at Elesis a bit surprised, but he recomposed himself and glared at her menacingly.

"I do what I want."

They stared at each other as two animals wanting to lunge on the other's neck. The air grew tense, the waitress looked at the two of them with her hands in her chest and the next thing that they knew was that Elesis already threw a punch at the guy's face. He wasn't expecting her to be serious and the hit took him by surprise. He stumbled back, the alcohol made it harder to keep balance and when he was able to face her again a brand new punch hit his jaw.

The rest of the gang quickly gathered around Elesis, she readied herself to fight against them but instead they just formed a circle, egging on the fight.

"Get up trash boy!"

"Break some bones girl!"

"I bet all my beer for him!"

As they cheered the man rose to his feet and prepared to face her once more. Elesis faced him again, this time he was ready for her attacks. She rushed him again, throwing punches at his face, but the man blocked it with both his arms. Despite how muscular he was, Elesis' hits clearly staggered him little by little. He was underestimating her, thinking it was just some high school girl.

As Elesis' attacks ceased, he threw himself at her waist, trying to knock her off-balanced. However she managed to grab him and keep herself on her feet the time enough to bring his tackle to a halt. Taking advantage of the situation, she elbowed him with the full weight behind her strike on the back, bringing him to his knees. Elesis immediately followed with a knee to his chin. Unfortunately the man took this chance to grab her other leg and brought her to the ground.

He jumped on top of her, his punch already flying towards her face. Elesis moved just in time to dodge the strike as his fist slammed against the hard wooden floor. He pulled away his hand in pain and tried again, but a kick in his gut knocked him away and she got up again. He was getting frustrated over being beaten by a single kid. But it only made him less focused on the fight. As he charged again at her, she spun on herself, launching a strong kick at the man's side. He coughed as an excruciating pain extended all over his liver.

He was tired of her, and reached inside his leather vest for a machete. Brandishing it in the hope that Elesis would be intimidated.

He charged forward. Elesis threw herself out of the way, he turned and charged again, this time getting dangerously close. He swung his knife furiously, grazing Elesis' face. As she was backing off from his attacks, he stumbled over a table, the man quickly thrusted his knife and Elesis barely managed to catch it before being stabbed. The man pushed her with his knife, when it came down to brute force he was at an advantage.

It seemed that her grip on the knife was about to fail when the sudden sound of gunfire drew everyone attention. They all looked at the door to see a group of police officers, all dressed in brownish uniforms. One of them was holding a revolver from which smoke came out of its barrel, a golden star was hanging on his chest.

"The sheriff is here!" One of the bikers screamed.

In mere seconds the whole band started running away, heading for an emergency exit on the opposite side of the bar with the police tailing them. A moment of chaos and then: silence. You could still see the bikers from the window, trying to outrun the police officers in the distance. Elesis finally relaxed, Eve came running to her side, with a handkerchief on her hands.

"Are you alright?" She asked while wiping a strand of blood that was running on Elesis' cheek. She didn't realized it but that graze with the knife actually cut her.

"I'm all good, don't worry, such a thug doesn't stand a chance against me," Elesis answered, puffing her chest out.

Eve stared at her for a while.

"That wasn't necessary, I can take care of myself," She added.

"Can you? But then what would I do? I won't allow any scumbag to disturb our fun trip," Elesis replied.

Again, there was another pause in which Eve just stared at her. Elesis began to get nervous; she wondered if there was something she should say. Normally, when she gets at a fight and she wins, she usually gets congratulated. But Eve seemed to not be very happy with what just happen.

"Elesis," Eve suddenly said "I'm going to head for our room."

She didn't say anything more and left. Elesis scratched her head, something was definitely wrong. As she was about to go after her, her Elshard rang. It was Rena, the moment Elesis answered she started yelling about everything that happened since she left. Judging by her voice, she had some drinks on her. Elesis decided to leave Eve be for a while and chatted for a while, telling Rena some details about the trip.

"Oh my, so things are going smoothly there huh?" Rena asked, it seemed that she sobered a bit during the conversation.

"More or less, now I think that she's angry at me, but I don't know why."

Elesis explained what just happen in the bar to Rena. Even going over the details once more she couldn't figure why Eve would suddenly act so cold towards her.

"Elesis! Isn't it obvious?" Rena questioned on the other side "You're so slow for this kind of things… Eve was expecting a better response from you after that fight."

"What? Is that a reason to be angry? I protected her!" Elesis protested.

"Hey, it's not me who's angry at you, anyway; she's angry because you were fighting just because _you thought she couldn't manage it herself_ ," Rena explained.

"Oh, then should I have allowed that idiot to molest her?"

"Of course not you idiot!" Rena yelled "You just did it for the wrong reason. Look, I think a Nasod like Eve can take care of a drunken idiot by herself. The reason she got disgusted at you was because you ignored her,"

"I ignored her?!" Elesis couldn't believe what Rena was saying, maybe she hadn't sobered up at all yet.

"You just got in a fight for no good reason and then you made it sound like it was just nothing. If you said something like _I couldn't stand that man near you_ , she would be happier."

"You should have kissed her!" A scream was heard on Rena's side.

"Sorry, that was Rose, we're in some kind of party right now. But, to be honest, she's not that wrong. Maybe not just kiss her, but at least you could have used that as a chance to… you know, spark your relationship."

Elesis gave her regards and finally hung up. She stood still for a while, thinking on what they just said. Was Eve actually expecting her to say something as tacky as that? Thinking over it, Eve did behave a bit differently since the trip started. Well, not only the trip, but even after it. However Elesis just thought about that as the difference between being treated as a delinquent or as an honor student. But recalling what happened again…

She did feel as if Eve was trying to draw her attention in a different way than usual.

As she walked to her room, all this thoughts where swirling in her head. However all of them were pushed aside the moment she opened the door. Eve was there, it was uncertain if she was waiting for her or not, what struck Elesis, however, was Eve's choice of nightwear: a semi-transparent black nightie so short that it barely covered her matching lace panties. She turned around when Elesis came in, she clearly wasn't wearing a bra.

Elesis gulped as she entered the room and closed the door behind her. She didn't said anything, closing the door allowed her some extra time to think. What was going on? Where's the pajama Eve used at the spa? That's definitely not something you casually wear to sleep, especially if you're alone with someone else in a motel.

But it could be because of how hot the desert was! At least that was the only thing that came to mind, other than the already lewd thoughts that swarmed Elesis' head.

"I already took a shower, you can go in if you want," Eve announced "I'll wait here."

Wait here? What does she mean? Elesis slowly headed for the bathroom, avoiding to stare at Eve the best she could do and, despite doing that; she couldn't avoid to fix her eyes on the scantily dressed Nasod.

Elesis entered the bathroom and shut close the door behind. Now that that devilish temptress wasn't at sight, she ruffled through her clothes until finding her Elshard. Making a call would be troublesome, since Eve would hear it, so she started the shower and meanwhile sent a message for Rena.

"Help! I think you're right. I arrived at the room and Eve is wearing some kind of sexy lingerie," Elesis typed as fast as she could. While she waited for Rena's reply she undressed and tested the water temperature.

"Then what are you waiting for? Have fun!"

Rena's answer was accompanied by a bunch of smiling faces. Elesis left the Elshard with her clothes on the floor. Rena wasn't going to be of any help. And besides: What was she waiting for?

She entered the shower and let the lukewarm water rain on her forehead. It was relaxing. Eve was really trying to push their relationship in that direction. Now that Elesis cleared that, her past reactions were even more obvious. Eve never smiled when Elesis commented on her beauty, but right this morning she let one slide with a smile. And she would usually protested if Elesis tries to do things her way, but during the entire trip Eve just let her make all the decisions.

Probably this was Eve's way of doing things. She's being throwing curve balls at Elesis for a while and seeing how she didn't catch a single one, she decided to go straight. Maybe because what Elesis said after that fight or just because she got tired of waiting. It didn't matter, what mattered here what Elesis would do after exiting the shower.

"Elesis, you're taking too long in there. Is everything alright?" Eve voice was heard through the door.

"Yeah! Sorry, I just wanted to clean off all the dust from the desert; I'll be there in a second."

She stopped the water and stepped out of the shower. While drying herself with the towel she realized that she hadn't entered the bathroom with a clean change of clothes. It would be weird going out with the same clothes so she wrapped the towel around her. Now, it was her chance to make a decision.

If she rejected Eve here, she would most probably drop the subject and never bring it up again. Then they'll have the rest of the trip and maybe it would become a little too awkward, that if she doesn't go back directly.

And what if he accepts her feelings? To be honest, Elesis hadn't thought about it until just now. It was true that she did find the president hot, but the _wall_ that separated the two of them forced Elesis to think of her as someone on a completely different league. Eve helped her change the way her life was going. She also protected her against the police once. Not to mention that she believed in her when Elesis decided to change.

It was way different from the first time they spoke to each other directly. Elesis hated Eve from the beginning. She would hate anyone that resembled her of her father even if it was by a mere inch. But Eve didn't allow that hate to stand in her way. She forced her way in. One bit at a time, she slowly crawled her way to her heart. Even if Elesis didn't enjoy some of her methods, or if she still feels like she's too different from her, the truth was she couldn't bring herself to turn down Eve if she decided to push her feelings on her. Though, she would have liked it better if they weren't in a motel in the middle of nowhere.

And it suddenly struck her. Elesis exited the bathroom and walked into the room. Eve was lying in her bed. She immediately ait astride, staring at Elesis when she came in. It was obvious that she was waiting for an answer.

 _Crap! I should have thought what I was going to say!_ Despite already having a decision made in her mind, Elesis didn't knew how to exactly explain it to her.

"Eve… that nightie looks good on you."

There was a delay this time, but the same smile Elesis saw this morning showed up.

"Well, I think both of us know that there's something I must say, now," Elesis said.

Eve stood up and walked in front of her. It was so close that Elesis could smell the flowers shampoo Eve just used. Grabbing the lower part of her towel to keep her hands in check and forcing herself to stare at Eve's eyes to avoid staring down, Elesis continued her explanation.

"Eve; when I met you I never thought we would end in a situation like this. But somehow, you were able to change me, and I'm glad that I can say it was for the better. I realized that when I saw those thugs earlier. I have to thank you for that, and also; that helped a lot changing the way I think about you." Elesis voice was getting faster with each word, which caused her to stop and took a deep breath before continuing. Eve was still staring at her.

"It was really stupid of me not to realize this before, I was just too _intimidated_ to even think of a situation like this with you."

"Elesis," Eve interrupted; she held Elesis' face in her hands "I think you're still intimidated. You don't need to explain yourself. I accepted coming along this journey just to get closer to you. I told you that story about Aisha and how I like rebellious girls more to let you know that I'm interested in you and I also accepted your flattery, despite it being uncreative and a bit underwhelming; because I wanted you to be more confident about it. And I also did it knowing that you would happily accept my feelings if I were the one pushing them but…"

Eve paused, she let go off her face and held Elesis' hands.

"I wanted to hear it from you, instead of it being forced out by the sense of gratitude you have for my actions in helping you. I want you to be the one deciding to accept my feelings. When you fought against that man before, I thought that you were going to say something that would help me confirm if my efforts were achieving something. And despite that, you simply said you were protecting me. I was so frustrated. I willingly gave you all my effort to come in this trip. I allowed you seeing me totally naked. I even researched for an attire that would sexually excite you…"

"You mean that this morning you weren't hot, you were trying to…" Elesis said, but was cut before she could continue.

"Of course not! I'm a Nasod, I can stand under the raging sun of the desert in winters clothes and my internal refrigeration system could easily handle it. Wasn't it obvious from the way I clung to you after that?" Eve said, now the frustration she talked about was kind of obvious, "And right now I'm wearing something that would made my maid lock me down in the tower forever if she ever knew about it because I feel like I've been wasting my time!"

Elesis laughed. She could see the frustration building in the confused look Eve gave her.

"Eve, we are really stupid. I think we should have just say things clearly from the beginning. I was struggling inside there, thinking you were giving me an ultimatum, when you just wanted to make me aware of your feelings. You could have said it from the start, but to be honest, I kind of like this way of telling me," She said, laughing again.

Elesis embraced Eve, bringing her closer. Her skin was still hot from the desert sun, and the thin fabric of the nightie did nothing to stand in the way of her hands. The silk like feeling was enough to make Elesis resolve tremble "And those outfits are cheating, of course I felt like you were irresistible in them, but I couldn't just assault you there…"

They stopped speaking. Looking into each other eyes they closed the small distance between their lips. The soft contact they had was enough for an appetizer, without separating an inch they kissed again, and again. Each time it was longer, until they broke the kiss gasping for air. They exchanged looks once more. There was no frustration left in Eve's, she was full of anticipation, and something similar could be seen in Elesis' eyes.

Elesis gently pushed Eve to the bed, her towel casually unwrapped when she moved, unveiling her body. She didn't pick it up, instead she crawled over the bed, going again for Eve's lips. Elesis intertwined her hands with Eve, holding her still against the bed, and let her body rest on top of Eve, softly squeezing her.

Surely, there was a dozen of places better than this place to be doing this, but they wasted every other chance for not being able to realize something that was so obvious. But not that they cared about it, after all it wasn't the place, but the person what mattered at that moment.

Elesis let go of Eve's hands and slid hers under the nightie, pulling it up as she caressed Eve's body. It was even smoother than the nightie's silk, first she felt it with her hands, and then she followed it with her tongue, softly licking and kissing her from the navel to the neck. Elesis finally removed the nightie and looked once again over her body. Despite having seen it many times before, this was the first time she felt like she could appreciate it. And she took some time to look at the small details she never realized before, like the small mole near her left hip, the straight line her navel draws on her belly or the beautiful way her small breasts crown her chest.

She wouldn't admit it but finally being able to take a look at them without fearing being slapped was reassuring, she liked how they were, from the soft skin that she felt with her finger to the rougher one that surrounded her nipples, which she didn't try to resist before kissing. Eve gave a small moan in response, and Elesis felt encouraged to repeat it on the other side. It was as soft as kissing a marshmallow. And the taste was even sweeter.

Eve sat on the bed, moving Elesis to the side. She wanted to enjoy the body of her partner too. Unlike Elesis, Eve never had a good chance to see her naked, so every inch of her body was a good discovery for her. Imitating Elesis, Eve kissed her in the navel and went up from there. Elesis' chest was bigger than hers, but she couldn't enjoy it more. She buried her face between them and rubbed it against them, earning a funny laugh from Elesis. It didn't stop her; she filled her mouth with Elesis' nipple and sucked on it, making her let a similar moan.

In the middle of the sucking, she noticed something rub against her hips that immediately garnered her attention. Elesis made her way to the panties and was blindly feeling them. Eve moved her hips upward to leave her some space and Elesis slid then her hand between the fabric and her skin. The Nasod shivered as Elesis rubbed her soft spot. It made her body get warmer and slightly wet.

Eve left Elesis' chest alone and looked at her, lust was written across the Nasod's face. And Eve was willing to fulfill it. Without moving too much she imitated Elesis moves with her own hand, seeking her sensitive spots with her hand alone, since she didn't want to take her eyes away from hers. Their movements intensified, and so did their moaning. Their soft pink skin unfolded with every rubbing, asking for more and more.

Elesis pulled away from her, suddenly pushing Eve to the side and straddled her. She pulled one of her legs up and moved her hips against hers, ramming her soft spot against Eve's. She moved onto a more comfortable position, and grinded her hips against Eve, both of them raised their voices. The hot and moist skin rubbed against each other as if those lips were having a soft and sticky kiss.

From being on top of her, Elesis could feel how Eve's body would tremble with every wave of pleasure that coursed through her. She was looking at her with a bright red face, although it was from the exercise rather than embarrassment. The rubbing sensation in their waist soon became similar to being melted into each other.

As the pleasure build up in their bodies, it became harder for Elesis to keep moving as lively, however every time she heard Eve's voice asking her to continue, or simply looking in her begging eyes was enough for her to keep giving it all. However, Elesis was the first one to crumble from her position and fell over Eve, yelling on her climax and gasping for air; as her body pulsed with pleasure. Eve cuddled her smiling, Elesis somewhat felt a weird sense of defeat.

"Would you give me some more, Elesis?" Eve whispered to her. Elesis didn't need further instructions.

It wouldn't be fair to leave her in the middle of the whole thing. Elesis thought as she moved along her body, liking and kissing every tiny bit of it. Eve got up from bed and asked Elesis to lie beneath her, she sat stride on top of her, leaving her crotch over Elesis' face. Elesis wrapped her arms around Eve's legs and raised her head; licking the sweet candy she was offered.

Feeling the soft and warm tongue licking and prodding her soft skin, Eve started to feel a numb sensation on her waist. The fluids that dripped from her folds only encouraged Elesis to stick her tongue deeper. Suddenly, a burst of pleasure traversed Eve's body as Elesis touched a particularly sensitive spot in her; she instinctively tried to pull away, but Elesis tightened her grasp around her legs, holding her in place as she continued to directly stimulate this new found weak point. It wasn't hard to reach it with her tongue, and moving the tongue in circles against it caused Eve's body to bend over the pleasure. Her voice grew loud and after a jolt, she dropped over her partner as a sweet rain of juices fell on Elesis' mouth.

They embraced each other, both of them still gasping for air. Without any words, they look into each other eyes. Slowly, they calmed down, shared a kiss, and went to sleep.

* * *

"Do we have enough to reach Feita in one go?"

Elesis was filling the bike's gas tank while Eve loaded their stuff back onto the side bags. It was still night, the sun would take a few hours to rise again. The temperature dropped significantly, to the point that they changed their skimpiest clothes for the winter ones.

"Yeah, once you got all of that, we can get moving."

"Once we arrive there, what will we do?" Eve questioned.

"We'll head to Belder, there's not much to see in Feita, unless you're interested in visiting the temple."

Elesis didn't need Eve to answer the question to know that she had already been in there several times. They loaded all their stuff in the bike and get back in the road. Driving at night through the desert was infinitely more comfortable than during the day. The sun doesn't burn your skin and doesn't harm your eyes, and the night breeze feels nice when traveling in a bike. But more importantly, Eve was able to cuddle against Elesis as much as she wanted without feeling suffocated.

They avoided speaking about what happened last evening. They just came to an agreement of _enjoying it until we decide to speak about it_ or what was the same: don't mention it until they're in Belder.

Even if traveling at night was more comfortable, when the only thing you can see is the small patch of road illuminated by the bike's lamps, it can feel very boring. And lonely, even with Eve hugging her from behind, the deep darkness that surrounded them made Elesis feel lonely.

She felt really relieved when she saw the highway lights in the distance. Since the volume of travelers going from the Sky ships airports in Belder to the temple in Feita was so big, they decided to build an entire highway just to allow the tourists to get there. And at the same time, it was the fastest way to go to Belder from Bethma. Unfortunately, the amount of entrances and exits the highway had, plus the many ring roads, elevated paths, subterranean tunnels and more… caused Elesis to take the wrong turn many times.

When Belder was at sight, Elesis was horribly hungry, and even more frustrated. Instead of going into the city, she drove to the outskirts. There was a thick forest surrounding the city. Many different species of trees decorated it: from tall Oaks to small acacias. Since it was winter, most of the trees hadn't a single leaf, except for the perennial ones. Elesis carefully made her way through dirt roads and other small paths until finally reaching her destination. A huge board with the words _KING CAMPING GROUNDS_ welcomed her.

"We are here, what do you think Eve?"

Elesis looked back to see her reaction but surprisingly enough she found Eve sound asleep. She must have fallen asleep at some point of the road and it was but a miracle that she hadn't fallen off. As she heard her name being called she mumbled something and moved a little, only to curl more into her back and go back to sleep. Somehow, seeing that made Elesis' frustration from before go away.

Too bad she had to wake her up anyway.

"Eve, what do you think of this place?" Elesis asked again.

"Camping grounds? Are we going to camp? I never did it before. Do we even have equipment for that?"

Elesis asked her to step down the bike with a smug grin. Then, she lifted the seat to open the small compartment under it. She pulled out a bunch of grey long bags. Some of them seemed to have hard sticks inside.

"I came prepared, I actually enjoy camping in the wilds. Don't worry, I guarantee you'll love it, too."

They paid the check out and started to look for a good camping spot. Elesis insisted in climbing to the more elevated hills, which was a bit of a pain carrying all that stuff. They finally decided to camp in a small clearing from where you could see a wide view of the city.

Now that the camping place was chosen, they just had to prepare their camping gear. Eve was already curious about it.

One of the bags contained several orange tarps and a bunch of small plastic sticks connected by a wire. Elesis asked her to join the ends of the sticks while she unfolded the tarps over the ground. Connecting the ends of the sticks was easy, and Eve thought it was entertaining. Once they were connected, she passed them through the straps that where on one side of the tarp. The four corners of the tarp had small plastic pieces with holes to insert the sticks. Once Eve connected the two on her side, Elesis did the same on the other side. Then, the tarp suddenly rose to turn into a nice tent.

As Elesis secured the tent with spikes and ropes, she asked Eve to prepare the rest of the gear. Curious of what else they had, she opened the rest of the bags. One was a small folding table that barely raised half a meter from the ground. Other one contained a strong fabric and a set of sticks that converted into a portable chair. Like the table, it was only high enough to not sit on the ground. And the other one was something similar to a stand.

"What is this for?" Eve asked, pointing at the stand.

"For fire, this reminds me that I better go get us firewood before it gets dark."

They saw that firewood was being sold at the entrance, so Elesis headed there. Eve moved to chair so it faced the view they had of the city and sat there. Belder was a weird city nowadays. Unlike Hamel, they were eager to embrace the progress that the technology from Altera offered. The city was dotted with hundreds of cranes from all the constructions they were already doing. It was similar to Elder, if it was mixed with Altera.

Tall offices and apartment buildings mixed with small rustic houses wall to wall. Some streets had electronics shops and other kind of modern business on one side and in the other you could see blacksmiths and farm animal's shops. And the traffic on the streets were as bizarre as the buildings, since you could see pricey cars sharing the road with horse drawn carriages.

Eve remembered visiting the city two decades ago. Back then there wasn't even a single electric lamp on the streets, and now; as the sky grew darker, the city started to display a nice shade of orange and purple. Thousands of tiny dots of light started showing up in every street, along with others that moved from the cars.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Elesis asked, arriving with two bunches of firewood under her arms.

Eve nodded and turned away from the city to watch Elesis arrange the firewood on top of the stand and lit it on fire.

"You can stand the hot pretty easily but not the cold huh?" Elesis asked, seeing how fast Eve dragged the chair near the fire "Are you enjoying camping?"

"I like how these small devices turn into useful gear once they are unfolded. The people who designed them must be an interesting person."

"What about nature, the landscape and all of that?" Elesis asked, laughing at her comment.

Eve shrugged and sunk even more in the chair.

"Hey, I want to get in there too," Elesis protested, lifting Eve and sitting there instead, letting Eve sit on her lap. Eve looked at her briefly before curling up again "So, what about we talk about that."

"What do you want to know? I think I already said everything yesterday."

"Well, I want to know what we are going to do now. I'm pretty sure that what happened yesterday wasn't _one night sex_ ," Elesis answered.

She got Eve's attention. Elesis took a deep breath before speaking.

"When we get back to Altera, you have a wedding to arrange. What will happen then?"

"I don't know. My compromise with Herbaon was being planned since more than a year ago. I don't love him, but our marriage would benefit all of us. If I were to cancel it, I must have a good reason."

"So I'm not a good reason?" Elesis asked. She already knew the answer. Even she would admit that breaking such an important marriage for the sake of a newly found love is a stupid move.

"… You," Eve hesitated before answering "Only for me. You're a good reason, but only for me. Everyone else will think that either I'm being selfish or plotting something."

Elesis was absolutely surprised. She was expecting to be shut down as fast as Eve usually does, but this answer had a bit of hope in it. But, Eve and she had been opposites since forever. Was it actually possible that Eve renounced to her goals for Elesis? The thought danced inside Elesis mind.

"To be honest, the moment I proposed it I immediately regretted it. I'm usually known as a queen, but the truth is, Elesis, most of the time I'm just being dragged by… everything. My duties, my responsibilities, what my people expect from me…" Eve made a pause to stand up "I've been pushing myself so many times, and now I'm exhausted. I don't know what will happen after I marry Herbaon. We are barely family, I don't even know him more than what I saw the few times we met."

Eve sighed as if something that was bothering her had just went out.

"I apologize. You don't need to worry about my own concern. You were asking about what will happen with us from now on, right? Well, that depends on you. What do you wish?"

Elesis took a moment to think about it. Everything was happening so fast that she was now hesitating. Of course, she knew that a romance with Eve would involve some serious matters, but they were still weighing heavily on her shoulders. Like always, when she was in doubt, she decided to go for the simplest answer.

"We don't have to decide this right now. There's still time. After all, this journey is to have fun. Things like that can wait until we're back. And who knows, maybe something else will happen that changes things."

Those were reassuring words for Eve. And she was right, a lot of things could happen from now on. Maybe the wedding gets canceled over another matter, one that is more reasonable. Or maybe something happens between she and Elesis and they decide to break up, although Eve wasn't willing to consider that possibility.

Crossing the dessert was tiring, in more than one way. Even when Eve was eager to explore the city, they decided to leave it for the next day. Having a rest wasn't that bad either. Elesis displayed some interesting camping skills that Eve wondered if she learned them while she was with the Red Knights or if it was later.

As the night arrived Eve started to feel sleepy. Although it was still too early to go to sleep, she suggested the idea. Elesis came up with a better one, spreading a sheet next to the campfire and sitting on it, she patted her lap. Eve grabbed a blanket and accommodated herself resting her head on Elesis' thighs. It was soft and warm, and as Elesis pet her head, she slowly fell asleep. Just as Eve began her nap, Elesis heard the faint sound of her Elshard vibrating in her bag. She had to stretch in a very uncomfortable way to reach it without moving Eve. When she looked at the projected holo-screen she sighed as she saw Rena's name in it.

"Must be important, you're interrupting a nice moment," Elesis said as she answered the call.

"Oh? What were you doing? Something lewd?" Rena asked, this time there weren't loud voices in the background.

"Yeah," Elesis asked, she waited for a while to see if Rena had an answer but apparently the elf wasn't expecting such an answer "Nah, she's just napping on my lap."

"Oh my!" Rena said with excitement on the other side "Does that mean that you're progressing?"

"I don't know if I can call this progress considering that we just…" Elesis was about to tell Rena about last night but a loud squeal through the Elshard interrupted her.

"Of course it's progress, dull head!"

Considering it better, Elesis decided to not tell her about it. She asked instead how things were going over there.

"Almost everyone left for their vacations, I'm so lonely here."

Rena continued complaining for a while before Elesis finally decided to say goodbye. She let her Elshard and resumed petting Eve's head. She mumbled in dreams when she felt the gentle stroke on her hair. Elesis couldn't help but giggle, until she heard the Elshard vibrating again. She looked at it ready to hang up if it was Rena again, but surprisingly enough, it wasn't her Elshard. The sound came from Eve's bag.

Elesis had to repeat her stretching to fetch it. The holo-screen displayed then a picture of Aisha and Eve. She wasn't sure if she should answer it or wake up Eve. To be honest she would rather not wake up Eve. She decided to answer just to tell Aisha that she was sleeping.

"Hi Eve!" A cheerful group of voices said on the other side.

"Hum… hi, sorry Aisha, Eve is sleeping right now so you may want to call tomorrow instead."

Some mumble was heard on the other side. Apparently the group there was a bit disappointed.

"Tomorrow? Where are you? It's early in the morning right here."

Now that she thought about it, Aisha said that she was going to spend the vacation with her family. Elesis had no idea where that would be, but the time zone must be pretty different.

"It's nighttime here already."

"I see…" Aisha said, Elesis thought that she was going to hang up "How are things going there? Is Eve doing ok?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't she?"

"I just wanted to make sure that you are taking good care of her. If something happens to her I won't forgive you."

"Hey, we are just doing some tourist things, it's not like we are seeking trouble," Elesis answered. Ignoring the fight she had in the bar against the biker, this was mostly true.

"You better keep it like that then. And don't forget that she has a lot of things to do when she comes back, like organizing her wedding; don't waste too much of her time there!"

She just had to bring that up again. Telling Aisha what happened or that Eve was considering cancelling that event would be a very bad idea. As much as Elesis likes getting on her nerves, she refrained from doing such a thing.

"Eve can go back whenever she feels like it, but since she's having so much fun with me, it could take a while."

That would be enough of her troubling Aisha. An answer that Elesis couldn't fully understand came through the Elshard and Aisha hung up.

"Having fun?"

Elesis was startled by Eve's voice. She dropped the Elshard still in her hand. Luckily Eve grabbed it in time. Elesis looked down to see Eve smiling at her, still resting on her lap.

"Since when you're awake?"

"I haven't fell asleep yet."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Elesis asked, feeling embarrassed "I'm sorry for picking your Elshard…"

"No, it's fine. I didn't tell you because I thought it was funny. You didn't tell Rena about us. You don't want people to find out?" Eve asked.

It was the first time Eve used the word _us_ in that way. Elesis felt like it was a bit cute.

"It's not that I don't want people to find out, it's just that Rena can be a bit… overwhelming with that kind of things."

Elesis lifted Eve and stood up, carrying her like a princess. She looked down to see the pale nasod cheeks grow red, as Eve realized about it herself, she averted her gaze. The night wind was already cold enough to stand outside. Elesis gently put her down over the bedroll.

"Will you tell Aisha about it?" Elesis asked, heading outside to put out the fire.

"Not yet. She's getting over it, but I don't want to press that wound," Eve explained, poking her head out the tent to watch Elesis packing up the camping equipment before joining her in the tent.

A single gas burner illuminated the inside of the tent. The faint heat that it emits was enough to create the perfect atmosphere for a cuddling night. Elesis got inside her bedroll and crawled next to Eve.

"What will we do tomorrow?" Eve asked, curling up next to Elesis.

"Visit the city. I know some places that you might like."

"And after that?"

"Whatever we want."

* * *

Elesis waited patiently for the elevator to take her to the manor. The garden she already visited so many times appeared in front of her when the doors opened. She walked along the stone path to the entrance where a familiar Nasod received her.

"Good morning Elesis. Are you feeling nervous on your first day? Does the uniform fit you well?"

Artemisa made the questions as she examined Elesis, who was wearing a maid uniform very similar to hers. Elesis spun around to allow the maid to see it better before cheerfully answering.

"I'm perfectly fine, thanks for your concern. I can start training right now."

February just started, there was a few months left of classes and then Elesis would be free forever, however, for the time being, she would still have to work and study at the same time. Elesis had decided to quit her job on that immoral bar to accept a new interesting offer she received.

"Miss Eve is upstairs now, she will be in charge of your training. Make sure you don't disappoint her. Don't worry, she may be strict but she means well," Artemisa said before disappearing through one of many doors on the entrance hall.

Some preparations needed to be made, but Eve offered her a job in the manor. It was the perfect job replacer, and more importantly, it also was the best way the two of them could be together without raising too many suspicions.

Elesis arrived at Eve's office and knocked on the door. She heard her lover on the other side and walked inside.

"Good morning, Elesis."

"Good morning," Elesis said, and after seeing an inquisitive look in her eyes she added "My lady."

"I know that it may be difficult to get used to, but if we want this to keep being a secret you'll have to do it."

"Are you sure you're not just enjoying yourself, Master?" Elesis said, walking next to her.

"I would lie if I said that I don't like you calling me like that," Eve answered with a laugh.

After the trip they made together, they had a lot of time to consider what to do. After thinking on many different possibilities, both of them agreed that the best thing to do would be to let time pass. Eve managed to cancel her engagement with Herbaon. In the end, the alliance between Altera and Elysium would have to wait. However, this new development helped building trust between the already allied kingdoms. Apparently, both Belder and Hamel were feeling really wary of the Altera-Elysium alliance.

Even with the wedding canceled, they decided to keep their relationship a secret for a while. If the fact that the wedding was cancelled for the love between them could be very dangerous for Altera's image.

"It's thrilling having a lover hiding between your maids?" A voice behind Elesis said. She turned to see Aisha.

The only person that knew about them was Aisha. She took the revelation surprisingly well. Apparently, once she admitted that Eve was out of her league, Aisha set her sights on new goals. She's still the council vice-president and an example of discipline, but there are lots of rumors that she's a cold hearted womanizer. The fact that she's never seen with the same girl two weeks in a row doesn't help.

"Why would it be thrilling? She's just here for work." Eve answered.

"She says that, but she asked me to keep the bunny girl outfit from my previous workplace," Elesis whispered to Aisha.

"You two are becoming awfully familiar, can I hear that too?" Eve stated, annoyed.

"Oh, it's nothing. And now that I don't see this punk here as my rival, I feel like she's actually a nice person," Aisha said, giving Elesis a pat in the back.

"You'll make me blush," Elesis answered in a sarcastic tone.

Aisha stuck her tongue out and with a snap of her fingers she instantly disappeared in a flash of light.

"Elesis, today is your first day working here. I really hope this goes well."

"Yeah, you're right. I wish it too. I can't wait for all of this being over so we can freely live together." Elesis said, and after exiting the room with Eve in tow she added:

"However, for the time being, I'll stay by your side like this, my Master."

* * *

 _ **THE END**_

 _ **Well, that was a long story. At least it was longer than the others I made. First of all I want to thank Justforfum and Kiyooshin for helping me proofreading and editing. You are awesome guys :3**_

 ** _And of course I want to thank everyone else that enjoyed the story. Feel free to tell me what you think about it._**

 ** _Don't worry, there's already a new fic being prepared. You won't get rid of me that easy._**

 ** _Some of you may notice that there are a lot of things unfinished. Well, I'm considering the chance of making a second part for this fic, but it will be after I see how much reception this one has._**

 ** _I don't know if I want to say something more so... See you!_**


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